The fall NVNR Owners Strategy Session began with booksellers sharing their 4th Quarter plans and strategies, before opening the discussion to a variety of issues that were "top of mind" for booksellers in the current uncertain economic climate.

4th Quarter Strategies takeaways:

1. Take Care

• Self-care is important for owners and staff during the busy holiday season!
• Build breaks and meal times for staff into the schedule.
• Building in time for breaks reduces stress and increases productivity.
• Plan post-season holiday or down time, and treat yourself to something special.
• Delegate tasks when possible.
• Create a manual of employee guidelines and important store functions.

2. Tariffs

• Tariffs are affecting both costs and availability of books.
• Be prepared for key titles to sell out and unable to be restocked in time for Christmas gift purchases.
• Encourage customers to order early if they need a specific book.
• Have frank and honest conversations with people about how tariffs are affecting the store.

3. Pop-Up Stores

• A plan for running pop-up and offsite locations during the holiday can increase sales and reach new customers.
• Look for town and community sponsored events like local festivals, open holiday markets, and smaller private events run by other community groups, churches, book clubs, etc.
• Offsite and pop-up stores are time-consuming and demanding for the staff, so prioritize them based on your resources and goals.
• Doing pop-ups increases your visibility in the community, and can reach people who otherwise would not see your storefront.

4. Social Media

• It is important to showcase the exterior of the bookstore, not just individual books or interior photos. It help people recognize the store as part of their community.
• Having a TikTok channel can increase store exposure and reach new audiences, and can be worth pushing past any reticence or embarrassment about posting.

5. Damages

• Damages continue to be a problem, which booksellers find very frustrating when they occur with expensive "deluxe" editions of books with high price tags.
• The risk of damage is reduced when books are ordered in carton quantities.
• Report issues with damaged shipments to sales reps, who can intercede on the store's behalf.
• Reporting damages via Batch makes it easier to receive credits from the publishers in a timely manner.