UK indies report Christmas sales uptick

In the UK, 50% of independent bookshops responding to a Booksellers Association (BA) survey reported sales increased this Christmas compared to last, reports the Bookseller.

Sales of the BA’s National Book Tokens gift cards also grew 8% year on year to reach a new record level. While 40% of respondents reported footfall was up in their bookshop during the Christmas period, another 40% noted their footfall was down. For the year as a whole, 73% of respondents reported an increase in turnover.

Key concerns for booksellers include the cost of living and consumer confidence, energy bills, the UK economy, increasing RRPs, wholesale prices and staff costs.

BA managing director Meryl Halls said: ‘These results show us that books are resilient so far in this economic downturn, and that bookshops continue to work fiendishly hard to get great books to readers. While there is a sizeable minority of bookshops that are not reporting year-on-year growth, we should take heart from our members holding steady last year.’

Category: International news