If you just sat and thought about how the internet and gadgets have changed the world today, it may be a shock that book stores are even still around. Today you can read newspapers online and download the latest novels, instead of clogging up shelves and magazine racks. Some may say that you are helping the environment, but sometimes it is nice to turn the freshly pressed papers in a brand new hardback book.
Commercial properties selling books alone have slowly declined over the last few years. Since 2006 around 800 commercial properties selling book shave closed, with 50 per cent of those being independent book stores. Last year alone 50 new independent stores opened, but 72 closed the same year.
The Booksellers Association which is a bookseller’s membership organisation in the UK and Ireland represents 95 per cent of all bookselling companies. In 2006 there were 4495 outlets that had memberships, 1483 of those were independent commercial properties. However, these figures have dropped to 3683 total memberships and 1099 that are independent in June this year.
Tim Godfray, Chief executive Officer at The Booksellers Association expressed a need for the Government to help, “At a time when literacy is an issue and libraries are under threat from government cuts, we need to build a coalition of publishers, government and consumers to provide opportunities for the passionate and creative entrepreneurs who run bookshops on our High Streets to thrive.”
“This is not just an issue for our members; it’s also about preserving the retail diversity of our town centres,” Mr Godfrey added.
A survey conducted by The Booksellers Association asking commercial property booksellers what they believe the Government could do to help stop book stores declining revealed that parking, planning and rates were high concerns.
However the eBook was the main factor that people believe is affecting book sales, but that is in the hands of consumers, not the Government. eBook sales increased by 318 per cent in 2010 and more and more books are becoming available to download. By 2021 experts believe that 50 per cent of all books will be available in the form of an eBook.
The eBook allows you to carry a number of books in a single device. They are usually a lot cheaper than paperback and hardback books and can be downloaded in minutes. But when on holiday, there is nothing better than reading a good book on the beach, after all you don’t want sun cream smudged all over the screen of your Kindle or tablet.
In a bid to avoid becoming the next book store victim, Waterstone’s announced last month that it will end its 3-for-2 book offer after being in place for more than ten years. The company have instead decided to offer books at three, five and seven pounds. Ursula Mackenzie, from The Publishers Association expressed that Waterstone’s have made the right decision, “I’m not sure that the 3-for-2 is what people are looking for. They want one book, at the cheapest possible price.”
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