Book Stores NAICS 459210
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Industry Summary
The 2,570 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.
Recent Developments
May 13, 2025 - Publishers Offer Fewer Nonfiction Paperback Editions
- Publishers are printing fewer nonfiction paperbacks, according to Jeffrey Trachtenberg, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who covers book publishing and media. New adult nonfiction paperback titles have decreased 42% in the past five years, primarily because new books are typically published first in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook format. Consumers who don’t want to pay $32 for a new nonfiction hardcover book can immediately buy the $15 e-book or you could listen to it on audio, and audiobooks are the fastest-growing segment of book publishing, according to Trachtenberg.
- Book stores are charging more for comic books as publishers raise prices, according to entertainment industry news site ScreenRant. Publishers priced standard 32-page comic titles at $3.99 for the 12-year period ending in 2023, with some titles (mainly for kids) still at $2.99, according to entertainment industry news site AV Club. Prices have been steadily rising since, however. More than half of all new comics in 2024 cost $4.99, with some going up a dollar or two more with variant and stock card covers, or in some cases, extra story pages. Comic book sales skyrocketed because of the pandemic lockdowns, from $1.28 billion in 2020 to $1.91 billion in 2021 and $2.01 billion in 2022, according to Publishers Weekly. They decreased to $1.87 billion last year. Book stores may be negatively impacted if further price increases cause readers to cut back on comic book purchases, however.
- 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.
- Book stores increased prices slightly during 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Book store industry employment decreased slightly during the first three months of 2025, according to the BLS.
Industry Revenue
Book Stores
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The average independent book store operates out of two locations, employs 26 workers and generates $3.1 million annually.
- The book store industry is comprised of 2,570 firms that operate 5,683 stores, employ 65,800 workers and generate $8 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
Industry Forecast
Book Stores Industry Growth
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