PublishingNews last week reported that although high street booksellers achieved a reasonable Christmas period, they are starting to feel the pinch from online stores. Some of the independents - who are not large enough to provide their own online services - are actually closing their doors for good.

I doubt it will be wise in 2008 to walk into an independent bookshop an mention Amazon - that’s already happening and it seems it is starting to grind on the shop owners’ ears. But can smaller booksellers compete with the likes of Amazon and the large book stores with their online offerings, many of which are rapidly competing with the prices Amazon offers? Diversification may be the key.

The Christmas shopping season is every retailer’s savior, generating around 80% of annual turnover. The problem independent booksellers face is not the Christmas price competition from online stores, but the difference in shopping behaviour during the festive period. Shoppers are far more concerned with ticking off that present list than enjoying the experience a bookstore has to offer, even one like Silverdall in Kirkham, Lancashire, which boasts an ice cream parlour and café.

Independent shops have always, throughout history, struggled to directly compete with larger organisations, and the current year-by-year growth of online shopping is no different. Every industry has gone through significant transformations as a result of electronic commerce and independent booksellers will need to adapt or die. It’s a harsh world, but those with imagination and passion will win through - while those who stick to their guns and insist on running their businesses “the good old way” will fall by the wayside.

In the UK, the number of independent bookstores fell from 1,560 in January 2005, to 1,424 today. To be honest, with all the recent fuss over the internet attracting so much trade, I would have expected far more closures over the past two years.

A Today’s Publishing prediction:

Large booksellers will focus more and more on internet stores as they reach a broader market, are cheaper to maintain, and provide a high level of control, monitoring. As demand grows, so the smaller high street chain stores will decline offering the independent bookseller a clear opportunity to provide exceptional service and a more personalised experience.