CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Several competitive stores in the Charlotte area are coming together to help each other out in an effort to boost business.
All 11 of the independent bookstores in the Charlotte region are hosting a month-long book crawl as a way to raise sales and get more people reading. Among those stores is Davidson's Main Street Books, which has been a staple of downtown since the 1980s.
Adah Fitzgerald has owned Main Street Books for the last seven years and says the community has always been supportive, even more so since the pandemic began.
"To be an independent bookstore is hard because we all know there are cheaper options," Fitzgerald said. "But the pandemic has also brought new people into the shop local movement."
Megan McKinney, her sister and all of their children at regulars at Main Street Books. McKinney said her kids love to go and pick out books all the time.
Like many others, she considers the bookstore a special part of the town and wants to make sure it sticks around.
"It's a good part of our community," McKinney said. "Buying from Amazon doesn't do anything for us. It's even quicker coming here than ordering from Amazon."
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
And while many people choose to shop at local businesses, the book retailers are hurting. During the heart of the pandemic, the American Booksellers Association estimated that 20% of independent bookstores were in danger of closing.
That's why for the first time ever, the Charlotte-area independent bookstores are working together to host a book crawl throughout April to get customers browsing their shelves.
"We all have customers that tend to be local, so if I can share my customers with bookstores in Charlotte that helps them, and if Charlotte customers can come up to Davidson and shop with us for the first time, that's great for us," Fitzgerald said.
During the crawl, customers get a stamp on a passport for every store they visit. They then earn rewards for visiting as many stores as possible.
"We're working together to share our customers together, to help each other out," Fitzgerald said.
The book crawl runs all month long and there's a big celebration at each of the stores on April 30, which is Independent Bookstore Day. The celebrations will include giveaways and big parties.
Contact Michelle at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.