The Plot Thickens Total 2017 bookstore sales, which include brick-and-mortar and online sales, were $10.73 billion, a 3.65% decrease from 2016’s $11.14 billion. Unit sales increased a modest 1.9%, compared to +3.3% from 2015 to 2016 and +2.8% from 2014 to 2015. The “good” news is unit sales in the retail and club channel, which includes brick-and- mortar and online stores selling print books, increased 3.5%, but the increase is largely the performance of online sales. The mass merchandiser channel decreased -6.7%. The four major categories of print books experienced increases in 2017 unit sales, except adult fiction: adult non- fiction, +2.9%; adult fiction, - 0.7%; juvenile non-fiction, +7.8%; and juvenile fiction, +2.1%.

Some Improvement During Q1 2018 January is traditionally not a big month for retail, and sales at bookstores continued to follow this pattern, with January 2018 retail sales totaling $1.305 billion, an 8.4% decrease from January 2017, which decreased 1.9% from January 2016. For the week ending March 12, 2018, total unit sales of print books, which also include online sales, had increased 4% YTD, largely because retail & club unit sales had increased 5% YTD, compared to +2% in the mass merchandisers/others category. By format, hardcover, +9%; trade paperback, +2%; and board books, +17% had positive gains YTD, while mass market paperbacks and audiobooks had negatives performances YTD, or -4% and -24%, respectively.

Independent Bookstores Were the Big Winners During the Holidays Sales at independent bookstores, which include trade, college, religious and chain stores, increased 2.6% during 2017. For the first two months of 2018, sales increased in this channel 4% YOY. The 2017 holiday period was particularly good for independents, as NPD BookScan reported the largest number of books sold in the indie channel for the week of December 17–23, since the source has collected and published such data.  Publishers Weekly’s random contacts with a number of independent bookstores following the holidays revealed some had YOY holiday sales increases in the double-digits. Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais, MN, reported a 47% increase, for example.

Barnes & Noble: The Last of Its Breed While there has been a 35% increase in independent bookstore locations since 2009, Barnes & Noble, the last remaining book chain superstore, has closed approximately 10% of its stores since 2011. For its Q3 fiscal 2018 results, Barnes & Noble generated $1.2 billion in sales, a decrease of 5.3% YOY. Same store sales decreased 5.8% due to less traffic. Then, during mid- February 2018, it announced the termination of 1,800 employees. During 2017, Barnes & Noble modified its business model to improve its survivability: the launch of four full-service restaurants, or Barnes & Noble Kitchen, which have generally received positive reviews.

Audiobooks: Relax and Listen According to Audiobooks Publishers Association’s preliminary report, 2017 total US audiobook sales were $2.5 billion, compared to $2.1 billion for 2016. More than 79,000 new audiobooks were published during 2017, a 29% increase from 2016. Audible produces the largest number of audiobooks and its store is the largest in the world. Audiobooks.com is the second largest audiobook company and RBmedia’s acquisition of it has allowed for rapid expansion into Australia and the United Kingdom. Penguin Random House published 20% more audiobooks during 2017, or a title count of almost 1,000, and a total catalog of more than 11,000 books. Audiobook circulation at public libraries increased 24% YOY through the end of November 2017.

Bookstore Browsing and Buying Made Easy Online According to data from Author Earnings, sales of online hardcover and paperback books totaled $3.11 billion; online audiobooks, $495.45 million; and e-books, $1.34 billion, during the May– December 2017 period. During 2017, e-books had a 55% share of the online book market, with print books accounting for 39% of units and audiobooks, 6%. Author Earnings’ data also revealed 90% of all purchases in the romance category are e- books and approximately 75% of science fiction & fantasy are e-books and audiobooks. Most poetry (82%) and drama & plays (85%) purchased online are print books.

Advertising Strategies Engage with members of a local theater group or high school or college dramatics students to portray characters from major classics to roam throughout your store during a Saturday morning to create a unique shopping experience for customers. Promote the event heavily. To increase participation in your book groups or classes, consider a “Bring-A-Friend” promotion, with a discount and/or coupon for the class participant and his or her friend for a purchase made after the group or class. Approach a large employer in your community to develop one or more employee book group to encourage reading as an excellent learning experience and relaxation therapy. Offer an employee discount program or other employee perks involving reading and your store.

New Media Strategies Ask loyal customers to record short videos of them reading a short passage of particular meaning to them from a book recently purchased at your store. Incentivize participation with a discount on their next purchase. Create an e-newsletter with a list of new titles and future in- store events as well as promoting local authors with interviews and/or a short passage of a work in progress. Conduct occasional online surveys (your Website and/or social media) and ask customers about what they liked and disliked about your store, employee performance/assistance, etc.