Bookstore stories worth a read

By Accent on Eclectic

Book buzz has been making national headlines lately, with cable newsers following Sarah Palin from store to store on her “Going Rogue” tour and discount book sellers engaging in take-no-prisoners price wars ahead of stocking-stuffer season.

In fact, with bookshops comprising so much under-the-tree fodder, it’s not a bad time to check up on your local literary sales scene. Clearly, the death throes of the brick-and-mortar bookshop still is a viable angle.

Not only are consumers pinched, but many have rediscovered libraries over the course of the recession and are relishing the resulting absence of literary clutter build-up.
Others are turning to digital media.

Competition from free book-trading programs like PaperbackSwap.com can’t be helping matters. (They also run SwapCD.com and SwapDVD.com.)

Barnes & Noble Inc. and Borders Group Inc. both release third-quarter earnings tomorrow, providing yet another news peg. Borders, which has suffered years of declining revenue, said two weeks ago that will close hundreds of Waldenbooks stores in 2010 – possibly one near you.  Barnes & Noble, also facing waning sales, recently introduced the Nook digital reader.

Meanwhile, online behemoth Amazon.com trumpeted a 28 percent sales jump to $5.45 billion, and net profits of nearly $200 million. Amazon credited its Kindle digital reader for a large share of the boost.

Not surprisingly, books make up 40 percent of Christmas gifts purchased online, according to this article from Marketing Charts, citing Conference Board data.

Bookstore sales were up 3 percent last month compared to October 2008, according to this report from the National Retail Federation.

For more historical sales info, keep in mind the U.S. Census Bureau monthly retail sales report, which breaks out statistics by type of merchant.

The American Booksellers Association, a trade group for independent bookshop, chronicles industry and legislative trends on its Web site, as well as offering links to member directories that can help you find shops near you.

Publisher’s Weekly is a good source of industry trends and examples.

Here’s a link to a liquidation firm that may have some insight, and a directory of book wholesalers who would be likely interview subjects.

Other angles to explore: used book sales, online sales by grass-roots dealers at venues like Amazon Marketplace and eBay, book distribution centers, vanity presses, paperback exchange stores.

Talk with strip mall operators and commercial real-estate brokers about traffic drawn by book stores and what vacancies mean to surrounding businesses.  Get creative – seek out local authors for their take on sales, service and signings.

Airport bookshops – including the Read & Return money-saving program offered by newsstand operators The Paradis Shops.  It allows buyers to return books purchased there for a refund of half the sales price.  Maybe more book retailers should try something similar.