The long, slow death of bookstores has been foretold for decades. First, it was the rise of megachains like Barnes & Noble pushing out independent booksellers. Then came Amazon, the digital colossus. E-readers, which made it possible to buy any book, at any time, with the tap of a button. Streaming services, audiobooks, and social media all threatened to finish the job.

But they haven’t. Humble bookstore seems to be making a striking return. Bookstores — both independent shops and major retailers — are not only surviving but apparently thriving. Across the U.S. and the U.K., booksellers are opening new locations, drawing in young customers, and turning a once-declining industry into an unlikely success story.

A Bookstore Boom

In a city like Boston, high rent and competition from online retailers should spell disaster for small businesses. But bookstores aren’t just hanging on — they’re multiplying. Lovestruck Books, a romance-focused bookstore in Harvard Square, opened to a line of eager customers earlier this year. It’s part of what industry leaders are calling a bookstore “boomlet.”

According to Beth Ineson, executive director of the New England Independent Booksellers Association, her organization has seen more new members in the past three years than in the previous 15 combined. “People see other indie bookstores opening as a win for the market, not competition,” says Rachel Kanter, owner of Lovestruck Books.

The story is much the same across the Atlantic. Waterstones, a mainstream bookseller once on the verge of collapse, is now planning to open at least 12 new stores in the U.K. in 2025. Its American counterpart, Barnes & Noble, is expanding even faster, adding over 60 locations this year alone.

Curiously, even for major retailers, the indie approach is paying dividends. James Daunt knows this first hand. He is the managing director of Waterstones and the CEO of Barnes & Noble, although the two companies are not related. Daunt took over Waterstones in 2011 and completely turned it around. His tenure at Waterstones has been legendary as he basically saved the company from what seemed to be an unavoidable decline. In the US, he also saw an urgent need for change.

“The problem with Barnes & Noble when I took it over was that the bookstores themselves weren’t very good,” Daunt told CNN. Rather than running the company like a traditional retail chain, Daunt treated each store as a unique space, allowing local booksellers to curate their own inventory instead of following a one-size-fits-all corporate model.

“I think a proper bookstore has to be curated, and that is the essence of one of the core skills of what it is to be a bookseller. You are trying to have the titles that you think will most interest your customers and display them,” he says.

This approach worked in Waterstones and now, it’s working in Barnes & Noble. The company opened up 30 new bookstores in 2023, 57 in 2024, and is set to open even more this year. All this while independent bookshops are also having a moment.

Why Now?

The arguments against bookstores haven’t gone away. Quite the opposite, our society is more digital than ever. So, why are they making a comeback? The answer lies, at least in part, with young readers.

Surveys show that Gen Z and Millennials are now the most frequent buyers of fiction books. A study by the Booksellers Association found that 20-to-24-year-olds are the largest age group purchasing books in physical stores. In small towns, independent bookstores have reported an influx of younger customers — many of whom are discovering the joys of browsing bookshelves for the first time.

“We found that Gen Zers and millennials prefer books in print over e-books and audiobooks, even though their other favorite reading formats are decidedly digital, such as video game chats and web novels. American Gen Zers and millennials read an average of two print books per month — nearly double the average for e-books or audiobooks, according to our data,” writes Kathi Inman Berens, who studied this phenomenon, for the Conversation.

Over half of all millennials and Gen Zers go to a library at least once a year. They tend to be more values-driven than older generations, and libraries’ ethos seems to resonate with them; again, it’s particularly small, indie bookshops.

Social media plays a huge role in this trend. On TikTok, the hashtag #BookTok has racked up over 40 million posts, with readers sharing recommendations, reviewing new finds, and even driving books onto bestseller lists. The impact has been so significant that major bookshops now dedicate entire sections to trending #BookTok titles.

Bookstores Are Changing and It Seems to Work

The thing is, Amazon is often cheaper and more convenient. That’s been true for years. But it doesn’t matter what Amazon does, there’s just no emotional connection; and apparently, for many buyers, that matters. There’s no wandering through a hallway and looking at what titles look interesting. Digital browsing is just not the same.

Bookstores provide a space for connection. Unlike the isolating experience of buying books online, bookstores encourage conversation — whether it’s chatting with a bookseller, getting recommendations from fellow customers, or attending a book signing. Bookstores are more than just inventory. Plus, they’re becoming more than just books. They often have quiet spaces and cafes where people can work and read; they host events; they integrate all sorts of activities for local communities. At the bookstore, there are no ads and spam.

It’s tempting to see this resurgence as a fleeting trend, a nostalgic backlash against the rise of digital media. It could be. After all, vinyls are still around. But bookstore owners and industry leaders don’t see it that way.

Barnes & Noble and Waterstones are already preparing for even more expansion. Daunt has hinted that an initial public offering for the consolidated bookselling empire could be on the horizon. Meanwhile, independent bookstores continue to pop up, catering to niche audiences with specialized selections in everything from feminist literature to science fiction.

The challenges are still real. Rent prices remain high, online competitors continue to dominate, and the economic outlook is uncertain. But after decades of decline, bookstores have finally found a model that works.

And as long as readers still crave that experience, bookstores will have a place in the world.