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Graeme Neill

Graeme Neill is retail reporter of The Bookseller.

Is the recommendation dead?

16.05.08

Is the recommendation dead?

The reason I ask this is because of the latest data from Book Marketing Limited, which was presented at the Booksellers Association conference. It asked people whether they agree or disagree with a number of statements. Unsurprisingly shoppers were most likely to buy a book if it was on offer. But bottom of the pile was "often buy recommended by a bookseller".

Comments following the story suggested that there was not much surprise at the news.

But it seems baffling to me. Surely the whole fun of going into a bookshop is asking whoever is behind the counter 'I like Jacqueline Wilson and Samuel Beckett; can you recommend me a book that is the best mix of the two?'.

When I used to work at Waterstone's years ago, the best customers were always the ones who you could spend 10 minutes walking through the shop recommending the books that you absolutely love.

The statement makes sense if you are mainly shopping online or from a supermarket; their offer is considerably different from your friendly neighbourhood bookshop. But if you are a bookseller in a chain or independent, have you found you are recommending less titles to customers?

I wouldn't have thought so but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

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By A. B Seller

I find it sad that few shoppers pay any attention to my recommendations. Especially given that I have impeccable taste. But seriously, I always feel a certain amount of pride when a customer buys one of my recommendations, and after a few months, checking how much revenue (at full r.r.p.!) I've bought in for the store - something to mention in my appraisal at the very least. Even more seriously, I think recommendations, and a recommendation section is vital for all bookstores, especially chains. In an age when it seems staff are worried about becoming 'cashiers' as opposed to 'booksellers', a "Staff Picks" section is one way to avoid this. Even if it doesn't make as much money as a deep-discounted celeb memoir bay, I still think it should be a staple part of all stores as it brings that "bookshop with booksellers", personalised feel to a customer's shopping experience - they may even be more likely to come back!

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By Clive Keeble

Graeme, I was dumbfounded to read the BML report findings and wonder just where they originated. A high percentage of the sales in my shop would result from personal recommendations (latest such sale today was Taschen "Palladio" - what a bargain) Perhaps its the sight of straw in my hair and a cider flagon by the desk which makes customers feel relaxed enough to seek my advice. If anything I have noted an increase in "recommended" sales.

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By Who?

I am still amazed by the number of bookshops I go into which do not have a standard bay of 'staff recommmends'. It is absurd, surely the fun of Bookselling is in behaving as though you run a shelter for abandoned animals: you love the books, care for the books and want to re-home the best books to the best customers. At least I do! There is nothing so satisfying as when someone buys a book on the basis of a recommendation, it is the most important job of a bookseller. But in an age where you can guage many reviews from different people at the click of a button by browsing amazon or any number of other sites, it is ridiculous to think that a bookseller's opinion should be placed any higher than other peoples. And if, as a customer, you are looking for a recommendation, you are more likely to trust the aggregate of fifty reviews, than the opnion of one bookseller. Sad but true.

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By Lauren

Sounds like rubbish to me! I left bookselling about eight months ago and spent much of my time enthusiastically 'handselling' my favourite books. Perhaps it helps that I was a children's Bookseller and adults are generally desperate for validation when making a purchase for someone else's child, but my colleague, a veteran Sci-Fi fan, had a loyal following of customers waiting for his next top tip. (Oh, and we weren't a friendly, local independent, we were a friendly, local chain store.) If the recommendation really is dead, I guess I am wasting my time trying to generate 'bookseller buzz' in my current role as a publicist? I certainly hope not!!

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By Lyn LeJeune

When Thomas Pynchon's last book was released, I went to the bookstore in town - it is a chain - in great anticipation. The clerks there did not know who he was and I had to spell his name several times. Finally, after about an hour one figured out that the books were still in the box in the storeroom. Since there are no independent bookstores where I live, I rely on the web for information about books. I've tried several times at the chain store- they do not recommend. You have to know what book you want and be sure you can spell the author's name. Perhaps that why publishers can just pay for prominent display and those are the books that sell and the reader is left wanting....same books on display, same books reviewed by major newspapers. Any wonder that books are losing importance in the public mind....the mind that is growing dim.

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By Graeme Neill

Thanks for the insightful comments. I had emailed Steve Bohme at BML about my own opinions on matter and he said that the findings are consistent with previous research. The following is a quotation from Steve:

"It’s an interesting [issue] but not inconsistent with other research we have done, which show that consumers don’t consider bookseller recommendations to be hugely important in prompting purchase (as opposed to recommendations from friends/family which always score highly). Similarly, our other recent report Books and Bookshops at the Dawning of the Digital Age shows that bookseller recommendations are not a major factor in persuading keen book buyers to use bookshops rather than e.g. going online. The research suggests that such buyers seem to value the information and advice available in bookshops rather more than recommendations.

"In terms of reasons behind this, some research we did a few years ago indicated that when it comes to recommendations, people trust friends and family (i.e. those known personally/closer to them) ahead of anything else. Libraries also scored considerably better than booksellers in terms of trusted recommendations, I think reflecting that they are seen as being more independent. In qualitative research we have found some cynicism that bookseller recommendation may be linked to commercial factors. There will obviously be differences in perceptions depending on the specific outlet in question, of course, and maybe also depending on the type of recommendation: e.g. a personal one from a member of staff vs the shop’s more generic book of the month recommendation.

"The other thing is, as indicated by the slides I showed on Monday, there are just so many other things out there to help book buyers decide: charts, prizes, ads, browsing, cover, special offers, not to mention the fact that – as we know from our Books & the Consumer survey – a large proportion of purchases (especially fiction) are based on having read the author before."

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By Ex-Waterstone's...

I think the staff recommendations are becoming less and less important, mostly as the staff in stores have less and less encouragement to read. No longer are Waterstone's staff allowed to "borrow" stock to broaden their knowledge, and now any books they are reading have to be "signed in and out" for security reasons and are subject to bag and locker searches. It wouldn't surprise me if the staff stopped reading at all - if this is the case, surely they'd be ill equipped to recommend any book to the general public?

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By PB

When I go in to a bookshop, I am quite capable of of choosing a book for myself. I pick it up, have a skim through it, and decide whether or not I want to buy it. I don't need to ask a pasty, unhealthy-looking twenty-something to recommend something for me, thank you very much.

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By South London Bookseller

Recommendations work best when the staff actively suggest titles of interest to a receptive customer, rather than a customer passively reading staff reviews - many of which are printed in too small a font size for easy viewing, or in illegible scrawl. The BML report is interesting, but I don't agree with it's findings. Direct recommendations DO encourage repeat custom and lends a certain individuality to the bookshop, by virtue of an (hopefully) informed staff. It's impossible to have read every book ever printed, but as booksellers, we do have the gift of the gab !

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By Alcibiades

Recommendations? Sadly nowadays the only ones available would be the alarming choice of 'add-on sales' stacked next to the till point, like the sweeties and chocolate at a supermarket check-out. All very handy if one wants a little box of novelties. As 'Ex-Waterstone's' so aptly described, their staff are no longer encouraged to read widely and discuss books (aka 'product') with customers. Most proof copies end up in the Manager's office, from whence they are handed to chums or surreptiously sold online. But then what can one expect? Recently a 'W' Manager was spotted on the till ( a rare sighting in itself ) at a major store. Asked by a customer for 'Mein Kampf' he directed the bewildered man to the Travel Section, blithely adding when challenged that surely it was a book about camping? When the customer replied that it was by Hitler, he re-considered for a moment and then added 'Ahhhh....then it must be in History'. The booksellers who witnessed this were left traumatised and are now receiving counselling for PTS. Surely now that even the 'W' Managers are wearing 'black-shirts' they might be expected to know who Hitler, Mosley, Mussolini et al were? No wonder we all now buy from Amazon or the Independents.

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By Melanie

I feel very angry and sad when I read some of the comments I see listed here. I have worked in bookselling for 12 years and I am very, very passionate about my job and I do believe that recommending titles is a vital part of a bookseller's job. When I scanned the comments I expected to see the usual 'urban myth' of how booksellers are paid by publishers to choose the titles they recommend. Nonsense, of course and I am glad it does not appear to have reared its head here. But what is really distressing is the utter disregard these commenters have for the people who serve them in book stores (particularly 'chain' bookstores). I mean, you do know we are human beings, don't you? The lady who struggled to find a bookseller who knew of Thomas Pynchon - yes, that's a huge shame, but I have had to calm down many booksellers over the years who have been abused for their lack of knowledge, when they have only just started the job. At Christmas, one of our Christmas booksellers was insulted within seconds of not responding to a request for Michael Morpurgo books. I'd like everyone to think of how far their knowledge of their job extended when they took on their role within the first month. I was very well-read when I began my job, but it was in the classics and I knew very little about contemporary literature back then. Far more worrying are the views of PB, I understand your confidence in choosing your own books, but I am surprised you can even bring yourself to go into a bookshop if you have such contempt for those 'pasty, unhealthy-looking, twenty-somethings', that work there. Again, they are human, they are intelligent, they enjoy recommending books and thankfully, the authors are grateful for their efforts. If you do not want to take us up on our recommendations - that is fine, but kindly refrain from being ruse.

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By Melanie

Of course, I mean rude

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