Independent booksellers in the U.K. reported "measured sales overall" for the 2023 holiday period, according to the Bookseller, which noted that the majority (36%) of respondents to its annual trading survey said sales were average in 2023 compared to the previous year, while 33% reported very good sales. Just 11% said sales had been excellent, while 19% called sales disappointing.
The results were similar to last year's numbers, "representing healthy trading overall for the 2023 festive season," the Bookseller wrote. Half of booksellers responding said foot traffic remained steady in 2023, compared to 2022, while 36% described business as down this year and only 14% reported higher foot traffic.
Supply and availability of titles was an issue for 39% of indie booksellers this year, according to the survey, but most booksellers said that this was quickly resolved and that there was "good availability" overall this year. Cost of living pressures continued to affect customer spending habits, with booksellers reporting fewer greetings card sales this year and that customers are "now more likely to buy paperbacks."
Rosalind Ephraim, the owner of Burway Books in Church Stretton, Shropshire, said that "stocking filler budget has not increased from last year and more customers [were] sticking to their budgets," adding that people "are more cautious" with spending, though "they are mostly aware that books are great value for money."
Looking ahead to 2024, 58% of indie booksellers reported they are hoping to grow and invest in their online businesses, and aim to use Bookshop.org and Libro.fm to boost their sales, as well as focusing more on promoting their bookshop on social media.
Mel Griffin, owner of Griffin Books, Penarth, Wales, said, "customers are continuing to turn back to the local high street as an alternative to bigger shopping centers, and we continue to reinvent ourselves, building our events program and schools work and aiming to give every customer an enjoyable and efficient experience of shopping with us".
---
 |
|
| Karin Schmidt-Friderichs | |
Branchen-Monitor BUCH, a monthly report documenting the development of the German book market, reported that the country's bricks-and-mortar bookshops ended 2023 with a 2.8% increase in sales and a 2.2% decrease in units sold compared to 2022, with the positive turnover due to prices paid for books rising by an average of 4.9%, the European & International Booksellers Federation's Newsflash reported.
"We are living in challenging times. The book industry is also feeling the effects. Compared to a weak previous year, the book trade has recovered in terms of turnover. Particularly during these difficult times, people are using books to expand their knowledge, to switch off, but also to deal with the current reality--a good sign in view of major political and social issues and conflicts," said Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, chair of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (the German book industry association), who also stressed the need for structural support of the trade in this tense economic situation.
---
BookNet Canada's blog featured the bestselling books in three categories (fiction, nonfiction, juvenile/YA) by Canadian authors last year. The results were based on print sales volume in Canada from January 1 to December 3, according to SalesData, BookNet’s national sales tracking service for the Canadian English-language trade book market. The top 10 fiction titles were:
- Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
- Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
- The Defector by Chris Hadfield
- Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
- A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart
- The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
- The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay
- The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding
- The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
- Everything She Feared by Rick Mofina