How to curate a book range with commercial impact
At Bookspeed, we are passionate about working with our heritage and cultural retail customers. Books feel like the perfect fit for these spaces, often contributing the educational aims of an institution.
But we often observe that heritage retail managers find it challenging to balance commercial objectives with institutional themes, specialisms, or storytelling. Those aims can occasionally seem conflicting.
Books are a product that can help retail managers bridge the gap between these competing objectives. We asked our Key Account Manager Chris to share his tips on how to develop a book range with commercial impact for heritage retail.
Many heritage sites are under increasing pressure to bring in additional revenue through commercial activity. Retail can be a reliable source of additional income, and books are a product that many heritage retail sites find success with. But thinking commercially is key, so here are some factors to think about when curating a range of books that sell.
Cater for the generalist visitor
To make retail truly work for your institution, thinking beyond your specialism to appeal to a broader visitor base is important when developing ranges. The more niche the themes of your museum, the more you limit your potential retail customers. So, it is important to widen the appeal of your range to capture revenue from more visitors. Books offer plenty of options for signposting your institution’s themes. But working with a book supplier can help you survey the whole market to identify complementary titles that will have wider appeal.
Consider the motivations of your visitors
Many people visiting your institution will have a deep interest in its themes. But others will visit as part of a holiday or a family day out. Think about the types of books or products that will appeal to the casually curious. They may be keen to learn more about your museum’s themes, but they may also just be looking for something more general. For example, they may just want to pick up something for the children as a treat, or they could be looking for a memento of their trip as a gift for a friend or relative. A sticker activity book is likely to appeal more to the family visitor than an in-depth historical tome. Making sure there are options at a lower price point will help prompt spontaneous purchases from the casual browser.
Seasonal events, trends and exhibitions offer extra opportunities
Look for opportunities throughout the year to develop your product offering beyond your core range. Seasonal events and exhibitions can reach new visitors, and therefore opportunities for extra retail sales. Make sure your product range is ready for them. Pay attention to wider cultural trends, too. Responding to these opportunities throughout the year can help you to reflect the interests of the people coming through your door.
Incorporate trusted bestsellers into your core range
We're lucky to have extensive experience working with heritage customers, which means we can draw from sales data to know what books sell well in these settings. When supporting our customers to curate a core range, we will always recommend combining some general bestsellers along with more specialist titles.
Add some local interest to your range
Many of your visitors will have a connection to the local area, as a holidaymaker, day tripper or as a resident. We offer strong regional collections at Bookspeed, so will often recommend books that inspire people to explore the region. Your museum or gallery shop can also be a source of unique gifts for your local community, so it’s worth considering this audience, especially at peak gift-buying periods, such as Christmas.
How I build a core range
Here are the five steps I like to take when developing a core range for a museum or historical site:
- I start with the site site’s specialism or its history. I’ll think about any ties to important historical figures.
- Once I’ve identified the key special interest titles, I’ll expand my choices to include general interest books.
- I’ll think about who is visiting the site, and tailor book choices to those people.
- I’ll make sure there are a mixture of retail price points offered in the range and opportunities for customers to access the subject at various levels.
- Then I’ll look for stories to tell within the range. For example, if there is a historical figure associated with the site who had an interest in botany, I might introduce some appropriate gardening books alongside more traditional biographies to bring that aspect of the subject matter to life.
Do you want support developing a book range that sells?
If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you source and curate a book range that sells, get in touch.
