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22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime...

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with...

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of...

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

4 Mar 2024

The British Book Awards has announced its shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year. 

4 Mar 2024

The ACT is happy to confirm the date for Local Bike Shop Day 2024 as Saturday 4 May, the weekend of the early May Bank Holiday.

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Indie Bookshop Turnaround using the Power of Twitter

Posted on in Business News

The Petersfield Bookshop is an independent bookshop based in Petersfield, Hampsire, that experienced an unlikely turnaround in just one night using the power of the internet.

On the 14th of January The Petersfield Bookshop tweeted that they hadn't sold a single book throughout the entire day, estimating that this was the first time this had happened in the hundred years since it opened.

The tweet, posted by Robert Sansom, who has worked for the shop for 13 years, explained that not a single book had been sold all day and included photos of the empty bookshop. After a fortunate retweet from the fantasy and science fiction author Neil Gaiman, the post reached millions. The full tweet can be seen below.

  Mr Sansom said of the situation:

"It was really touching, people have been so kind. This will really make a difference. There are slow days, but it was a really unusual day for us to have not sold any books - no one wanted to come out because of Storm Brendan."

John Westwood, 56, whose family owns the store, said: "It blows me away. I don't understand social media because I'm old-fashioned, but when Rob called me and told me the figures, I was gobsmacked."

As of today the tweet now has well over 8,000 retweets and over 18,000 likes. The bookshop posted their reaction to the overwhelming response to the tweet.

 

 

This extraordinary situation is a great example of how consumers are beginning to rally behind high street shops to prevent their closure. The UK's crisis-hit high street has been well-publicised over the last few years meaning that this increased awareness among consumers, combined with initiatives such as Just a Card and the Best Small Shops competition, could indicate a prosperous 2020 for the high street yet.

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