Issues With Independent Bookstores

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American supporters of independent bookstores, such as the American Booksellers Association are often critical of corporate booksellers like Barnes & Noble and Borders Books and Music (the #1 and #2 book retailers in the U.S. as of 2005). They criticize these chain stores for dominating the bookselling industry with their large stores, discount marketing, and sales of non-book materials like CDs and DVDs.

The aggressive growth and marketing efforts of such chains are often blamed for driving independent bookstores out of business. Independent bookstores also face competition from mass merchants and discount department stores like Wal-Mart, Target Corporation and Kmart, as well as from smaller retailers like grocery and drug store chains.

Online bookstores

Some independent booksellers have begun to sell books online to compete with Web-based booksellers like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. For example, the American Booksellers Association's Book Sense program features a website (booksense.com) allowing independent bookstores to participate in a common virtual online storefront. Others, such as Powell's Books, had a web presence before Amazon.com.

Bookstore Tourism

Bookstore tourism, a grassroots effort and marketing tool initiated in the U.S. in 2003, is aimed at raising the visibility of independent bookstores by promoting them as a group travel niche.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_bookstore

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