Independent bookstores boom
The Los Angeles Times reports 422 new bookstores opened in the U.S. in 2025—a 31% rise over the previous year—casting indie shops as growing community hubs for learning and organizing. (latimes.com) The piece frames the openings as part of a broader cultural rebound for physical book retail. (latimes.com)
Independent bookstores kept opening across the United States in 2025, with 422 new shops counted by the American Booksellers Association, up 31% from 323 in 2024. (bookweb.org) The 2024 figure came from the trade group’s annual report, which said 323 new brick-and-mortar, pop-up, and mobile stores opened that year. The association now says it supports more than 3,200 independent bookstores nationwide. (bookweb.org 1) (bookweb.org 2) Sales rose at many of those stores last year. In a January 21, 2026 survey of 382 member stores, 73.3% said their 2025 sales were up from 2024, and 66.3% said their 2025 holiday sales beat the prior year. (bookweb.org) The rebound is showing up in stores’ event business and online sales, not just in new leases. On Independent Bookstore Day on April 26, 2025, more than 1,600 stores took part, while online sales at more than 560 stores using the ABA platform jumped 77.41% from the 2024 event. (bookweb.org) Booksellers and trade groups have been describing stores less as simple retail counters and more as gathering places. The ABA says its members run book fairs, donations, author visits, and “inclusive community centers,” and the Los Angeles Times opinion essay tied the 2025 openings to demand for places for learning, organizing, and respite. (bookweb.org) (latimes.com) That shift follows a longer recovery from the years when Amazon, e-books, and chain closures were expected to hollow out physical bookselling. Fast Company reported in December 2025 that the number of independent bookstores in the United States had grown 70% over five years. (fastcompany.com) The growth has not erased the business pressures. The ABA’s January 2026 survey said booksellers were still dealing with rising costs, shipping delays, labor shortages, book bans, harassment tied to free-expression fights, and an uncertain economy. (bookweb.org) Even so, the trade group’s own numbers point to a larger physical footprint than a year earlier and stronger sales at many member stores. For a business once treated as a casualty of online retail, 2025 ended with more storefronts, more events, and more readers showing up in person. (bookweb.org 1) (bookweb.org 2)
