Despite doomsayer predictions, brick-and-mortar bookstores’ demise hasn’t come. In fact, local bookstores—and revived big-brand chains—are luring customers in with new incentives, merch, and cultivated communities.
The Rising Popularity of Brick-and-Mortar Bookstores: An Inside Look | CO- by US Chamber of Commerce
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A federal appellate court has revived a lawsuit by two Meta Platforms users who say they lost money after responding to fraudulent ads on Facebook. The ruling, issued last week by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, allows Oregon resident Christopher Calise and Nebraska resident Anastasia Groschen to attempt to prove that the company violated its terms of service by allegedly failing to police Facebook ads placed by third parties. The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by Calise and Groschen in 2021, when they accused the company of soliciting fraudulent ads from advertisers based in China.
Barnes & Noble is continuing its post-pandemic success as it continues to attract store visits while planning to grow its footprint.
From January to August of this year, the bookstore giant saw visits increase notably compared to the year prior, according to a recent report from retailer foot traffic data firm Placer.ai. Year-over-year increases were the highest in January (15.5%), May (10.2%), April (9.8%) and March (9.4%). With the exception of February, visits per location also increased year over year each month.
Placer.ai highlighted the fact that Barnes & Noble is not only planning to open new stores this year, but it has also made key acquisitions of smaller, independent bookstore chains. Barnes & Noble first acquired Colorado chain Tattered Cover in 2023, and acquired California-based Books Inc. just last month.
Location analytics reveal meaningful differences in customer behavior at Barnes & Noble and Books Inc. At a Barnes & Noble in Redwood City, Calif., 65.1% of visitors stayed more than 15 minutes, compared to 57.2% at a Books Inc. just 5.5 miles away in Palo Alto. Placer.ai says that longer visits reflect the success of Barnes & Noble’s experiential approach – stores designed not just for quick purchases, but for browsing, discovery and lingering.
Imports at major U.S. container ports are expected to remain below prior year levels for the first half of 2026.
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.08 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) — one 20-foot container or its equivalent — in January 2026, although the ports of New York/New Jersey and Miami have not yet reported their data. That was up 3.8% from December 2025 but down 6.4% year over year.
Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said it is too soon to gauge the impact of the conflict in Iran on import cargo volume.
"The immediate impact on containerized traffic to the United States is not likely to be substantial since little U.S.-bound container cargo is sourced from the region," Hackett said. "While it is too early to measure in the monthly data, increasing oil and gasoline prices will inevitably drive structural inflation if the conflict persists. That, in turn, could squeeze consumer discretionary spending and U.S. manufacturing, and ultimately drive down import volumes in the longer term."