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Bookstores Are Making a Comeback

Bookstores Are Making a Comeback

Well, we didn’t have this one on our 2022 Bingo card: Brick-and-mortar bookstores are booming again.

This week, Barnes & Noble announced plans to open 30 new stores next year. The bookseller, like many local bookstores, had been shrinking for more than a decade as it struggled to compete with online retailers like Amazon.

But the move looks to be part of a larger turnaround for booksellers. Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that local bookstores had not only survived the pandemic, but a majority were actually thriving. In the last two years, more than 300 bookstores have opened across the country.

A big part of this shift has been an increase in book sales overall. Bookstore owners shared they saw 40 to 70 percent increases during the pandemic. The Times spoke with bookstore owners who shared their customers would show up asking for more recommendations or simply wanting to chat about their current read.

“People are really looking for a community where they get real recommendations from real people,” said one bookstore owner. “We’re not just basing things off of algorithms.”

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