April 24, 2023

"Real Bookstores" are Back in Popularity in the U.S.

M. Suhail - stock.adobe.com

The popularity of "real bookstores" is reviving in the United States. The new coronavirus rekindled the reading boom, and U.S. consumers rediscovered the pleasure of visiting bookstores and buying paper books. Many independent bookstores are opening in New York City, and Barnes & Noble (B&N), the largest U.S. chain, is moving to expand its stores throughout the United States.

Today, B&N operates approximately 600 stores in all of the United States. Their stores will increase for the second consecutive year, halting a narrowing trend in the number of stores that has continued for about ten years.

The rush to open independent bookstores also continues. New York City-based "McNally Jackson" opened its fifth location in January at Rockefeller Center, the city's premier tourist destination. In 2022, "P&T Knitwear," a high-profile bookstore run by a big-name lobbyist, and "Books-A-Magic," run by a Brooklyn-based author, opened their second stores. Independent bookstores are unique in their product lineups and interiors, and young people enjoy visiting bookstores on weekends.

In the United States, the rise of Amazon led to the bankruptcy of Borders Group, then the second-largest bookstore chain, in 2011. B&N also continued to experience financial difficulties and sold itself to U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management in 2019 for $683 million (approximately 74 billion yen at the exchange rate).

The COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst for a turnaround in the struggling bookstore. The stay-home demand rekindled the reading boom, and more people visited bookstores as one of the few pastimes they could enjoy during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the NPD Group in the U.S., paper book sales in the U.S. market in 2021 were 828 million volumes, a record high since the study began in 2004.