Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2020
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

By: Ryan Raffaelli
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:29
ShareBar

Abstract

This study examines how community-based brick-and-mortar retailers can achieve sustained market growth in the face of online and big box retail competition. The appearance of Amazon.com in 1995 led to a significant decline in the number of independent bookstores in the United States, leading many analysts to predict the demise of the sector. However, between 2009 and 2018 independent bookstores proved to be far more resilient than expected. The American Booksellers Association (ABA) reported a 49% growth in the number of “indie” booksellers, from 1,651 in 2009 to 2,470 in 2018. This study identifies several key factors that contributed to the independent bookstore resurgence: (1) COMMUNITY: Independent bookstore owners promoted the idea of consumers supporting their local communities by shopping at neighborhood businesses. (2) CURATION: Independent booksellers began to focus on curating inventory that allowed them to provide a more personal and specialized customer experience. (3) CONVENING: Independent booksellers started to promote their stores as intellectual centers for convening customers with likeminded interests—offering lectures, book signings, game nights, children’s story times, young adult reading groups, even birthday parties. Some bookstores routinely host over 500 events a year. Finally, the ABA played an important role in disseminating best practices and data, reinforcing the sector’s core values, setting up external partnerships, and advocating on behalf of its independent bookstore members.

Keywords

Bookstores; Competitive Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; United States

Citation

Raffaelli, Ryan. "Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-068, January 2020.
  • Read Now

About The Author

Ryan L. Raffaelli

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • December 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Moleskine: Daniela Riccardi Turns the Page

    By: Ryan Raffaelli and Sarah Gulick
    • November 2021 (Revised March 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Kwame Spearman at Tattered Cover: Reinventing Brick-and-Mortar Retail

    By: Ryan Raffaelli and Kerry Herman
    • October 2021
    • Faculty Research

    How to Write an Action-Planning Memo

    By: Ryan Raffaelli and Akshaya Varghese
More from the Author
  • Moleskine: Daniela Riccardi Turns the Page By: Ryan Raffaelli and Sarah Gulick
  • Kwame Spearman at Tattered Cover: Reinventing Brick-and-Mortar Retail By: Ryan Raffaelli and Kerry Herman
  • How to Write an Action-Planning Memo By: Ryan Raffaelli and Akshaya Varghese
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College