Books’ popularity surged after covid lockdowns, as people rediscovered the joy of doing literally anything that didn’t involve a screen.
Now, more than four years out, it’s clear that it was no fluke.
Barnes & Noble…
… once the boogeyman of independent bookshops before it was nearly obliterated by Amazon, has ridden this new wave of appreciation for the printed word by expanding its stores nationwide.
- More than 60 new locations are opening this year.
- One of those locations is a multistory complex in DC that CNN suggests is more “symbolic” than anything — B&N used to operate out of the same building over a decade ago.
- Foot traffic at B&N stores is up 7% since 2019, per Placer.ai data.
It’s no fluke, but it’s no coincidence either: B&N CEO James Daunt attributes the success to taking a page out of the indie bookstore model.
- The company lets each store run itself so it can best serve its book-buying community.
- That means trusting employees rather than sponsored promotions from publishers.
- B&N has also embraced #BookTok, using the TikTok hashtag to curate titles and fan events.
It’s not just that people are reading more, it’s that B&N purposefully positioned itself for a resurgence that it claims to have seen coming.
For physical bookstores…
… the battle against the internet has been hard fought.
- In 2001, B&N competitor Borders made a Faustian bargain with an up-and-coming online retailer called Amazon to offload its entire digital presence.
- Borders bet big on physical stores and filled them with CDs and DVDs.
- If you can’t guess how that worked out, the last Borders closed in 2011 and Amazon is now worth $2T.
So B&N should be in a good place now, provided it doesn’t start actively courting its own destruction.
