Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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UK 2024 book sales down as indie bookstore numbers decline

In the UK, there was a ‘small decline’ in the number of independent bookstores in 2024, from 1063 to 1052, reports the Bookseller.

The decline continues the previous year’s downward trend, but 2024 figures are ‘still well above the 2016 low of 867,’ said the Bookseller, which reported that ‘the latest membership numbers released by the Booksellers Association (BA) revealed that indie bookshops still performed better than the wider retail sector, which saw approximately 37 shops close per day in 2024, according to recent data from the Centre of Retail Research’.

The BA reported that, in 2024, 45 new independent bookshops opened – down from 51 new stores in 2023. It also said Christmas trading was challenging. ‘Year-on-year volume and value of book sales in 2024 were down 1.7% and 0.6% respectively, according to Nielsen BookScan data, with high street footfall falling 2.5% from October to December, according to the British Retail Consortium,’ said the Bookseller.

 

Category: International news