Bookstore industry statistics show a market that combines large retail networks, campus-focused operators, independent shops, and a substantial workforce. U.S. data covers 5,629 book-store employer establishments in 2023, while Barnes & Noble reports selling more than 190 million physical books each year. Recent figures also show changing store counts, uneven sales trends, and continued openings among independent booksellers.
Table of contents
- U.S. bookstore establishments
- Large bookstore networks
- Bookstore sales and merchandise
- Employment and pay
- Independent bookstore trends
- Holiday trading and customer behavior
U.S. bookstore establishments
The Census Bureau reported 5,629 employer establishments in NAICS 451211, the book stores industry, in 2023. The broader NAICS 451 category, which includes sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores, had 42,352 employer establishments in 2023. These figures measure employer establishments rather than every selling point, temporary location, online-only operation, or informal bookselling activity.
The bookstore-specific total provides a useful baseline for the physical retail landscape. The broader category is much larger because it includes several types of specialty retail beyond bookstores. Comparing the two figures without keeping their classifications separate can overstate the size of the bookstore industry.
Barnes & Noble describes its retail and online operation as selling more than 1 million unique physical book titles every year. The company also reports sales of more than 190 million physical books annually across its retail stores and online operations. Those figures describe annual company activity, not total U.S. bookstore sales.
Large bookstore networks
Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) reported operating 707 physical bookstores and 538 virtual bookstores at the end of fiscal 2024, for 1,245 locations. Its network also included 63 cafes, 19 stand-alone convenience stores, and 48 True Spirit e-commerce sites serving alumni and sports fans. BNED said it was one of the largest contract operators of physical and virtual bookstores for college and university campuses and K-12 institutions across the United States.
BNED also said it served about 2,750 physical bookstores and 1,450 wholesale customers. Its book inventory management software supported 325 college bookstores. These measures describe different parts of the company’s operating footprint: locations operated, customers served, and stores supported by software should not be treated as interchangeable store counts.
Store movement was substantial in fiscal 2024. BNED reported 46 new physical and virtual bookstores signed, with estimated first-year annual sales of about $35 million. It also reported 167 store closures with estimated annual sales of $109 million. The openings included 23 physical and 23 virtual locations, while closures included 90 physical and 77 virtual locations. On a net basis, the reported opening and closing activity represented 121 fewer locations.
BNED’s fiscal 2024 results also described a first-day complete spring 2024 store count of 160 campus stores. Those stores represented approximately 805,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students, an enrollment figure BNED said was up about 39% year over year. This is a campus-program measure, not a count of all U.S. college bookstores.
The following figures summarize selected BNED network measures reported for fiscal 2024:
| Measure | Reported figure | Period or context |
|---|---|---|
| Physical bookstores | 707 | Year-end fiscal 2024 |
| Virtual bookstores | 538 | Year-end fiscal 2024 |
| Total physical and virtual locations | 1,245 | Year-end fiscal 2024 |
| New physical and virtual bookstores signed | 46 | Fiscal 2024 |
| Store closures | 167 | Fiscal 2024 |
| Campus stores in First Day Complete | 160 | First day of spring 2024 |
| Students represented by those campus stores | 805,000 | First day of spring 2024 |
Bookstore sales and merchandise
BNED reported fiscal 2024 revenue of $1.57 billion, up 1.6%. Its total retail segment sales were $1,514.9 million, also up 1.6%. Course material sales increased $44.0 million, or 4.7%, to $972.0 million. General merchandise sales moved in the opposite direction, falling $21.4 million, or 5.6%, to $364.1 million. Rental income was $136.7 million, up $0.1 million, or 0.1%.
First Day Complete was a major growth area in the same fiscal year. BNED said revenue grew 48% in fiscal 2024 and reached $127.2 million. In another presentation of the change, the company reported an increase of $34.2 million, or 36.7%. The percentages describe different comparison presentations supplied by BNED, so they should not be combined into a new growth calculation.
Quarterly results show that performance varied during the period. Comparable course material sales increased $38.1 million, or 8.8%, in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, total revenue was $602.1 million, down $8.3 million, or 1.4%. BNED said that decline was primarily driven by a net decrease of 109 physical and virtual locations.
BNED reported that 28% of merchandise purchases came from its four largest retail suppliers, with the largest supplier accounting for 7%. It also said 95% of inventory purchases came through two primary channels: 55% from third-party suppliers and 40% from retail bookstores. These percentages describe purchasing concentration and sourcing channels, not the share of final customer sales.
The company’s rental program included 1,136 McGraw-Hill rental titles and 922 Pearson rental titles. Those counts indicate the size of selected publisher-specific program inventories and do not represent the total number of books available through the bookstore industry.
Barnes & Noble’s retail activity extends beyond books. Its cafes pour approximately 39 million beverages per year, bake about 5.4 million cookies, bake about 985,000 croissants, and bake more than 450,000 scones annually. These company-wide operating figures help show the range of ancillary activity associated with a large bookstore chain, but they are not bookstore-industry totals.
Employment and pay
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported employment of 1,514.3 thousand in sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores in January 2026 and 1,535.0 thousand in April 2026. Because this is the broader NAICS 451 subsector, the employment figures include more than bookstores.
BLS occupational data for the subsector counted 611,950 retail salespersons in 2025, 132,370 cashiers, 121,590 first-line supervisors and managers of retail sales workers, 60,000 stock clerks and order fillers, and 26,130 shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks. These are occupational counts within the broader subsector, not a bookstore-only headcount.
Average hourly earnings for all employees in the same BLS subsector were $24.82 in December 2025, $25.13 in January 2026, $25.29 in February 2026, and $25.24 in March 2026. Average weekly hours were 28.2 in December, 28.0 in January, 28.2 in February, and 28.1 in March.
For production and nonsupervisory employees, BLS reported hourly earnings of $21.78 in December 2025, $21.69 in January 2026, $21.82 in February 2026, and $21.85 in March 2026. Their average weekly hours were 27.1, 26.9, 27.0, and 26.7, respectively. The earnings and hours figures are monthly observations and should not be interpreted as annual salaries or full-time schedules.
Independent bookstore trends
The Booksellers Association reported that independent bookshops in the United Kingdom declined from 1,063 to 1,052 in 2024. The association reported 45 independent bookshops opening in 2024, down from 51 in 2023. Its reported 2016 low point was 867 independent bookshops, placing the 2024 count above that earlier measure while still showing a year-over-year decline.
The Booksellers Association also reported that UK book sales volume fell 1.7% year over year in 2024, while sales value fell 0.6%. High street footfall during the retail sector’s golden quarter fell 2.5% in 2024. These measures cover the UK market and should not be combined with U.S. establishment or sales figures.
In the United States, the American Booksellers Association’s membership reached 2,433 bookstore companies with 2,844 store locations in 2024, according to a Publishers Weekly summary of the association’s annual report. Membership was up 11% year over year. The comparable 2023 figures were 2,178 companies and 2,593 locations.
The same ABA figures reported about 200 indie bookstores opened in 2023, including 230 storefronts and 34 pop-ups. More than 50 of those openings were BIPOC-owned indie bookstores, including 28 Black-owned stores. The report also counted 95 bookstore closures in 2023. The storefront and pop-up figures describe opening activity and are not a direct replacement for the company or location membership totals.
Holiday trading and customer behavior
The Booksellers Association’s Christmas trading survey showed mixed results among independent bookshops in 2024. Fifty-six percent reported that Christmas sales increased year over year, while 31% reported a decrease. For Christmas footfall, 38% reported an increase and 30.5% reported a decrease.
Customer spending also moved in both directions. The association reported that 43% of independent bookshops saw per-customer spend increase year over year, while 23.5% saw per-customer spend decrease. These are percentages of surveyed independent bookshops, not percentages of customers or shares of total industry revenue.
Taken together, the figures describe a bookstore industry with different operating layers: Census Bureau establishments, large chain and campus networks, book and course-material sales, specialty-retail employment, and independent shops in the United States and United Kingdom. The measurement period and geography matter for each comparison, especially where a broad retail subsector is used instead of a bookstore-only classification.