With the rising popularity of online shopping, local bookstores are struggling to compete with the lower prices and convenience offered by larger online retailers.
“Foot traffic has been down for brick and mortar stores in general, and obviously the rise of online shopping has kind of changed some of our approaches,” Anita Levin, a marketing manager at Book’s Inc., said. The oldest independent bookseller in the Bay Area, Book’s Inc. has several locations, including one in Palo Alto.
“The economics of book selling are very difficult. They’re not like other kinds of businesses, but also, the rewards are much greater, to my mind,” Faith Bell said. Bell owns Bell’s Books, an independent bookstore in downtown Palo Alto that sells both new and used books.
Books come printed with a suggested retail price that the publisher sets. Publishers sell to bookstores at a discounted rate, which, according to Bell, typically allows for a 40% markup on new books. “That means I make $4 on a $10 book,” she said. “Out of that, I’ve got to pay taxes on the building, pay rent, and pay all my staff.”
Online companies like Amazon have the resources and consumer base to sell books below the suggested retail price, allowing them to price out smaller competitors. “They sell books at a price so low that they lose money, often with the attempt to get rid of independent bookstores,” Levin said.
“We can’t do that and turn a profit,” Jasmine Valandani, a Children’s Book Buyer at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park added. “We don’t have the space to store a copy of every single book that’s been published.”
“There are many people who will actually walk into the store with their phone, see a book that they like, and stand in front of me and order it from Amazon because they can get it for one dollar less,” Bell said.
Booksellers have adapted to these difficult market conditions in different ways. Because the profit margin for new books is so low, Bell’s Books prioritizes high-value collectible books over cheaper items. Their collection includes first edition copies signed by authors like John Steinbeck and Albert Einstein as well as historical volumes that date back to the 1400s.
Kepler’s takes a different approach, continuing to sell new books but adding an optional three percent surcharge that goes toward employee wages. “If we are going to accept the fact that the main value of an indie bookstore is having real humans, knowledgeable staff, passionate readers on hand, we need to pay them living wages,” Valandani said.
Independent bookstores have adapted in other ways, including reaching potential customers through social media. “For a long time, I think there was a kind of resistance to social media,” Levin said. “Part of my job here at Books Inc. is to make sure we’re kind of a part of the online world.”
“A lot of the people who find us on TikTok, on Instagram, on Facebook—they’re our customers. They’re not just digital people, they’re people who actually do shop in our stores,” Levin added.
“During the pandemic, I wasn’t here then, but our online retail approach, our web orders really grew, and they continue to be a pretty steady part of our income,” Valandani said.
Other booksellers are less interested in online marketing. “We’ve been so long established that we don’t feel the need to do a lot of advertising. We have not been quick to get on the bandwagon of Facebook,” Bell said.
All three bookstores emphasized the importance of a physical space to browse for books. “We see ourselves as basically a refuge from Silicon Valley,” Bell said. “When you come in here, you can set down your phone, and you have 350,000 volumes, quite literally, to look at.”
“The main thing, if I had to quantify it really, is feeling like you’re a part of a community, getting to go into a space and to exist and to browse,” Levin said.
Many bookstores further engage with their customers through author and community events. “A lot of times people think about nonprofit institutions like museums or concert halls, but a bookstore really serves a similar function as a third space,” Valandani said.
Kepler’s also likes to highlight their staff by giving each employee shelf space to display their favorite books. “We devote a lot of linear feet to each book sellers’ recommended staff picks,” Valandani said. “Anyone can come in and browse those shelves and read thoughtful recommendations.”
“I still believe, will always believe that a bookseller is going to give you a much better recommendation than an algorithm ever could,” Levin said.
