In the last few years, Target has become "a tastemaker for books" through its book club and the Bookmarked Breakout program, both started in 2005, the New York Times wrote. The programs have "highlighted largely unknown writers, helping their books find their way into shopping carts filled with paper towels, cereal and shampoo.
"By assembling a collection of books by unheralded authors," the paper continued, "Target behaves more like an independent bookstore than like a mere retailer of mainstream must-haves (although, of course, Target sells its share of best-seller list regulars, like James Patterson and Janet Evanovich)."
Among highlights from the story:
- Target carries about 2,500 titles in each of its 1,700 stores, including many more paperbacks, particularly trade paperbacks, than hardcovers. Most books are shelved faceout.
- Target's "core" book buyers are women with a median age of 42 and median annual household income of $60,000. About half have college degrees, and some have children at home.
- The books for both programs are chosen by a panel of Target employees who meet monthly to review submissions from publishers.
- For each book selected as a Bookmarked Club Pick, the publisher produces a special edition, and the author writes a letter addressed to Target readers.
Among examples of titles selling well after being highlighted by Target are Still Alice by Lisa Genova, which sold 51,000 copies in its Target edition and some 174,000 copies overall, making Target the single-largest outlet for the book.
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, which sold only 2,000 copies in hardcover, sold more than 145,000 copies in Target. The regular paperback edition has sold 200,000 copies.
The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond sold 152,000 copies at Target.