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Independent Bookstore Day is an event that takes place across the country on the last Saturday in April this year, April 24. Even though the day will be more low-key this year due to the pandemic, customers can still show some love to a local bookseller by buying a book.
Some indie bookstores are also putting on events, either in-person or virtual. Those who stop by East City Bookshop, near DC’s Eastern Market, on April 24 will find special-edition books and other items sold especially for IBD. Bards Alley Bookshop in Vienna will also stock exclusive merchandise that day, or customers can tune in virtually for a children’s story time or evening wine-and-book event. Arlington’s One More Page Books will also host a few virtual offerings, including a discussion about modern romance novels.
Indie Bookstores Gear Up for 2021 By Alex Green | Jan 15, 2021
Buoyed by strong holiday sales and an unprecedented consumer shift to online ordering, independent bookstores have weathered more than 10 months of the Covid pandemic, with some even posting sales gains in 2020. But
PW’s ongoing survey of store owners and managers found that many remain concerned about the government’s response to the pandemic and the continuing uncertainty about the health of the economy.
The 25 independent bookstores who participated in the survey had widely varying sales results last year, with one store reporting a 50% sales increase over 2019 and another citing a 43% decline. Ten stores reported sales declines of 10%–35% compared with the previous year. Nine stores hovered between declines of 10% and gains of 10%. While those numbers would not be encouraging in other years, the declines were less drastic than some predicted back in spring.