After years of closure, small, independent bookstores in the US are on the mend.
Very often bookstores in America were doomed.
Again and again, online sales at Amazon rose to unprecedented heights.
Gradually, more and more bookstore chains had to close their branches.
But for some time now, the tide seems to be turning.
Amazon was not successful with its own bookstores.
And many small shops are currently opening again.
A glimmer of hope.
+
Small bookstores are reopening in the US and defying Amazon (icon image).
© Angela Cappetta/Image Source/Imago
If you look at the absolute numbers, the number of bookstores in America has been declining for the first few years since 1995.
In the first five years of Amazon's existence, the number of bookstores fell by more than 40 percent.
The most expensive books in the world: how much are they worth?
The most expensive books in the world: how much are they worth?
A current
time
column states that New York has seen a large number of interesting new bookstore openings since the pandemic began.
Even if Amazon was able to draw on long-term customer data, it didn't help them for their own stationary shops.
When these were sold, Barnes & Noble took over some of them.
Many saw this as a small revenge against Amazon.
Don't miss any new release.
Subscribe to our free book newsletter here.
Bookstore tips
A few years ago, economics professor Ryan Raffaelli published tips for the American book trade to assert themselves against Amazon.
For eight years he had scrutinized the market and the booksellers' sales strategies.
A few years ago, he gave the book trade a few tips in Focus that should still apply today in order to dampen the market power of the online giant a
little
:
Building a community - through a local sense of community win new customers and bind them to local trade
Smaller and more individual range in the bookstore - create specialization, present newcomers, etc.
Expand the offer and make it a place where people like to linger - with readings, autograph sessions
In any case, there has been a slight increase in the number of small bookstores in the USA.
According to
Focus
, the number of independent bookstores increased by more than 45 percent between 2009 and 2018.
The current figures also look good and give this industry some momentum.
The industry association states that 80 percent of the bookstores surveyed had increased sales in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Rubric list image: © Angela Cappetta/Image Source/Imago