Book Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 2,455 book store firms in the US primarily sell books, magazines, and other types of reading materials. Major revenue categories include trade books; text books; CDs, records, and related audio products; religious books; mass market paperbacks; and magazines and newspapers. Book stores also sell meals, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, souvenirs, novelty items, and stationery products. The industry is concentrated; the top four companies account for 69% of industry revenue.
Challenges of eBooks
Electronic books and their proprietary formats have been a challenge for independent book stores.
Competition from Alternative Sources
Book stores compete with a variety of alternative sources, including online retailers, traditional retailers, electronic distributors, publishers, and libraries.
Industry size & Structure
The average independent book store operates out of a single location, employs 10-11 workers and generates $3.6 million annually.
- The book store industry is comprised of 2,455 firms that operate 5,591 stores, employ 71,500 workers and generate $9 billion in annual revenue.
- The industry is concentrated; the top four companies account for 69% of industry revenue.
- Large companies include Barnes & Noble, Follett Corporation, Books-a-Million, and Family Christian Stores.
- The average per-student materials expenditure is about $90 per class or at least $200 per academic term, according to the National Association for College Stores (NACS).
Industry Forecast
Book Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 15, 2024 - Increasing Personal Expenditures may Boost Sales
- Personal consumption expenditures, an indicator of demand for books, increased 3.1% year over year and 0.5% month over month in March, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Book stores decreased prices slightly during the first five months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Book store industry employment decreased slightly during the first five months of 2024 while average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly, according to the BLS.
- Unit print sales at outlets that report to Circana BookScan increased 5% year over year in May. The May increase was driven by strong Mother’s Day sales and retail promotional events like the Amazon six-day book sale, according to Brenna Connor, industry analyst for US books at BookScan. Adult fiction was the biggest driver of the increase. Adult and young adult fiction titles claimed nine of the top 10 bestsellers on the list.
- Industry giant Barnes & Noble has plans to open more than 50 new stores in 2024. Company executives say that the firm is enjoying exceptionally strong sales in its existing stores and has been opening many new stores after closing over 100 during the past 15 years. Barnes & Noble opened more new bookstores in 2022 than it had during the whole decade from 2009 to 2019. The bookseller opened over 30 new bookstores in 2023.
- Consistent experiences from one store to the next, a key principle for most retailers, may backfire for book stores, according to James Daunt, who made Waterstones the largest book store chain in the UK and has brought about a turnaround at Barnes & Noble. Following that approach in book stores leads to an “inherently boring” experience for customers whose tastes vary based on the local community, according to Daunt. Uniform bookstores also leave curation, or the lack thereof, to publishers who pay for their titles to be placed on display tables. The Daunt model calls for turning over bookstore decisions to the managers and associates who engage daily with customers and share their love of reading. This approach means that experiences are tailored by the community.
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