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Print Units Fell 9% Last Week
Unit sales of print books fell 9.2% in the week ended March 28 compared to the previous week at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Of the four major categories, only juvenile fiction saw an increase over the prior week.
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Barnes & Noble Scales Back
Barnes & Noble has now temporarily closed more than 500 stores and furloughed "a large number" of employees across all departments at its company headquarters.
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Half Price Books Cuts Workforce By More Than 2,000
Half Price Books has laid off or furloughed 2,146 people, representing 78% of its workforce of 2,752. The company operates 126 stores in 17 states, all of which are closed.
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Future Uncertain for America's Oldest Independent Bookstore
The Andover Bookstore, America’s oldest continuously operated independent bookstore, is turning to customers to help ensure its doors will open again when the new coronavirus passes.
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D.C. Bookstore Uses Food Delivery App for Books
Starting this week, Washington D.C.’s Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is using Postmates, an app largely used for food delivery, to get books in the hands of readers in the D.C. area.
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Amazon Expands List of Priority Items
In a new announcement to suppliers and vendors, Amazon said that while it will continue to prioritize products such as household staples and medical supplies, it now has the capacity to add more products to its priority list. It isn't clear if books made the list.
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Indigo Lays Off 5,200, Urges Shoppers to Buy 'True Canadian'
Indigo Books and Music, Canada's dominant bookstore chain, closed all of its 199 retail locations on March 18. On Friday, March 27, the company laid off 5,200 of 7,000 total employees.
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Coastal Regional Bookstore Associations Offer Additional Help
Indie booksellers in New England and in California will be getting additional assistance from their regional bookstore associations, including management counselling, tech support, and promotional opportunities.
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Powell's Rehires Some Employees to Handle Online Orders
A surge in online sales at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., has allowed the bookseller to rehire 49 previously laid off union employees, ILWU Local 5 has confirmed. They are now working alongside more than 50 people in management to fulfill orders.
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This Week's Bestsellers: March 30, 2020
As day care centers and schools in the areas of the country hardest hit by coronavirus shut down, ‘My First Learn-to-Write Workbook’ is the #1 book in the country. Plus adults holed up at home are coloring like it’s 2015, and ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ lights up on Hulu.
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Print Unit Sales Fell 5% in Mid-March
Unit sales of print books fell 5% in the week ended Mar. 21, 2020, compared to the similar week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan.
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B&N Temporarily Closes 400 Outlets
The retailer has temporarily closed about 400 stores to the public as it works with state and local official to comply with shelter-in-place rules. At many outlets that are closed for in-store shopping, B&N is continuing to offer curbside pickup for online orders.
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How Regional Indie Bookstore Associations Are Helping
Regional independent booksellers associations are working to support their members with information, digital resources, virtual events, promotions, and more.
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Care Packages Help Bookstores Amid Covid-19 Closures
Two West Coast booksellers have found success with custom care packages during Covid-19 closures, shipping books, gifts, and cards to customers.
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Print Units Held Steady Last Week
A huge gain in unit sales in the juvenile nonfiction category helped to offset declines in adult nonfiction and juvenile fiction, keeping print unit sales last week even with the previous week at outlets that report to BookScan.
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Bookstores Seek Essential Exemptions
Bookstores in numerous states are facing a crush of online sales, offering delivery and pickup to customers, and applying for waivers to keep doing so as public health orders grow more strict.
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Two Indie Bookstores In Chicago Closed Their Doors Right After They Opened—and These Authors Are Trying to Help
Chicago authors are spotlighting the unique plight of two local indies that both closed to walk-in traffic on March 16: one bookstore that was only officially open for one day, and another that had changed ownership two weeks earlier.
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Unemployed NYC Booksellers Launch Online Bookstore
More than a dozen out-of-work booksellers in New York City have launched The Bookstore at the End of the World on Bookshop.org, to "make money doing what they do best."
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Binc Steps In for Booksellers in Need
Binc, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, has emerged as one of the few reliable sources of financial support for independent booksellers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Diamond Halts Shipments of New Comics to Comics Shops
Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest distributor of comics in North America, announced that it will cease the delivery of weekly published comics until further notice.
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