From Book Riot:
The state of bookstores feels shaky: plenty of them have shuttered, failing to adapt to changing times. Aside from ebooks and audiobooks, physical bookstores face competition in other forms of media such as TV shows, films, and music among other things that vie for people’s short attention spans.
Barnes & Noble, the largest bookstore chain in the United States, has had a long list of setbacks throughout the years. Among them are the closure of some of its stores, its Nook ereader flopping, its revolving door of CEOs — all which definitely resulted in dramatic sales plunges and smaller retail space for books. Amazon Books also entered the scene by trying to stand out. Instead of books’ spines facing customers, covers were shown on the shelves. But even with the backing of the juggernaut that is Amazon, its series of bookstore chains was eventually padlocked. And when Amazon does something like this, it means that there’s no money in the business.
Fortunately, there are many establishments that managed to adapt and stay afloat by keeping up with the times. Independent bookstores, though struggling to keep up, managed to get by, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Barnes & Noble has seen a resurgence by taking advantage of BookTook trends: When something blows up on BookTook, the bookstore chain stocks them in their stores and puts “As Seen on BookTok” tag on displays.
That’s just one way to be sustainable, but with all the challenges that the book industry currently faces, how will the future bookstore look like? Hybrid? Digital? Something else? I asked some bookish folks what they think.
Future Bookstores Will Feel Like a Shopping Center
Bookstores in the future will likely be attached to other businesses, such as cafés, museums, and restaurants, among other kinds of stores in order to increase foot traffic. This clever, but not novel, business strategy might work in malls or commercial centers. People will be able to browse shelves while waiting for their hot cup of coffee, their takeout to be prepared, or even after a museum visit. Books will also be paired with products in these establishments.
Link to the rest at Book Riot
About the OP’s mall/shopping center prediction, PG just checked and there are presently 700 shopping malls in the US, down from 2,500 in the 1980s. The same article quoted one industry watcher predicting there may be just 150 malls left in the US in 10 years. On the other hand, online shopping has boomed.
Again, regarding bookstores and museums, every museum PG has ever visited already had a gift shop which included a small selection of books. Is a museum going to permit someone to build a bookshop that connects to the museum, especially if the museum was built in the 20th or 19th century? Of the handful of museum trustees among PG’s acquaintances, not a one would consider adding any sort of bookshop other than the museum gift shop they already have.
PG predicts that online is going to get bigger and bigger. The Covid shutdowns introduced a lot of people who usually went out to physical stores to shop to the ease and convenience of online shopping.
During the later stages of CovidWorld, PG added Walmart, which has a store not that far from Casa PG, to his online shopping destination list (which was pretty much all Amazon previously). For products that Walmart sells, PG can order in the morning and have a person put a Walmart bag full of stuff on his front porch later that same day. Walmart’s delivery service had some rough edges during the first several weeks, but is pretty close to Amazon in reliability in PG’s recent experience.
As a consumer, PG is pleased that Zon has a serious and deep-pocketed competitor. Competition keeps all the parties sharp and constantly innovating to gain an edge over their competitors.
Another feature that is a hybrid is the “they’ll pack your online purchases, and all you have to do is pick them up” experience. I use that feature for groceries, medications, and many household items, at Meijer’s, Walmart, and Home Depot, among other spots.
These alternatives to schlepping around a big store are far more appealing to me. It allows me to bypass wrestling the cart, spending energy navigating the store, and waiting for checkout. I started using it during Covid, and still do 2-3 times a month. The best part is I don’t have to get out of the car in inclement weather. I can sit comfortably waiting the loading of my purchases, and never risk slipping on snow and ice.
For me, it’s a nice alternative to the Zon, that permits me to shop locally. For larger orders, there is often no fee, another draw. And, I don’t have to worry about porch pirates – I’m in control of my purchases and the timing of their pickup.
Why mall death?
I can only speak of malls that I no longer visit. The quintessential example of a Murdered Mall – one that didn’t need to die – was Randall Park Mall. Opened in 1976, RPM was, at that time, the largest mall in the world. It was located to the east of Cleveland, OH, on the site of an defunct racing track.
2 million square feet of space held a variety of shopping opportunities, from the large anchor stores (Higbee’s, J C Penney, and Dillard’s, among others), to the tiny boutiques, and places in between. It was a two-level, fun shopping experience, that was a first for customers in the area, formerly used to shopping strip experiences.
Only 20 years later, it was a dead husk.
What killed it?
1) Inconvenience – it was located quite a distance from the main population centers at that time. This enabled the mall to be built on a grand scale, but relatively cheaply. However, for many people, the distance needed to be traveled made the trip not worth it, except in the holiday shopping season.
2) Competition – Beachwood Mall quickly sprung up, much closer to well-off shoppers, and in a better neighborhood. Other upscale malls followed.
3) Crime – the mall was quickly a target for criminals, from the cars that were looted of purchases during extended trips, to personal attacks on shoppers. Groups of teens with larceny and violence on their agenda would walk 4 and 5 abreast, forcing other shoppers out of their way – including the older and more affluent ones. Shoplifting became a systematic endeavor, and the smaller vendors couldn’t take the losses. It didn’t take long for the word to spread that the mall wasn’t safe, and older shoppers stopped using it.
4) Staffing difficulties – the mall had difficulties keeping employees, as, without a car, it was a LONG bus ride to get to work. Many of the stores found that they couldn’t keep a full staff year-round.
All of the above combined to make the mall unprofitable. When economic downturn in the retail put larger chain stores into bankruptcy, that was the final blow.
I’m originally from the greater Cleveland area, and saw this chain of events happen in real time.