Wishing for Books

For its first three years, Spellbound Children’s Bookshop in Asheville, N.C., had to rely on an old-fashioned card system, says owner Leslie Hawkins. With the addition of a Book Wizard POS system last fall, Hawkins has been looking for ways to get the most out of a computerized sales history screen that allows her to track past customer purchases while ringing up new ones.

Hawkins began by testing a Wish List program during the holiday season. Kids who spotted must-have books were encouraged to let their friends and families know what they want by telling a bookseller who then entered the book, or books, into the notes area under customer purchases. It made it easier for grandparents, aunts and uncles to choose the right book, especially for series titles. When Wish List titles are purchased, Hawkins simply deletes them from the notes.

As a member of the keep-it-simple school of bookselling, Hawkins is pleased with the ease of administering Wish Lists. And she is considering using it in lieu of birthday clubs, which typically involve more stuff—both mailings and discounts. She prefers having only one discount program, Spellbound’s in-store book club. “I don’t want to have too many discounts and programs going on at once, because it gets hard to communicate all that to customers without feeling that you’re bombarding them,” Hawkins explains.

Before Book Wizard, Hawkins used punch cards and for every 10 punches/purchases, book club customers got $5 off their next one. Now customers no longer have to carry a card, and they can automatically receive a 10% discount on the average of their previous 10 purchases, which the POS system totals up. It’s fairer, Hawkins says, because she can include used books and sale items. Plus she’s found that customers look forward to reading their receipts to see how many more books they need to buy to qualify for a discount—and how big their savings will be.