“While pressure from Amazon forced Borders out of business in 2011, indie bookstores staged an unexpected comeback. Between 2009 and 2015, the ABA reported a 35 percent growth in the number of independent booksellers, from 1,651 stores to 2,227.”
Amazon may be a juggernaut, but it turns out they haven’t wiped out every business in their path.
Harvard Business School explores why independent bookstores have thrived in spite of Amazon and shares important lessons that can be applied to other industries as well.
The indie success is attributed to three factors: the development of community, an emphasis on curation, and a shift to stores becoming places to convene like-minded customers.
Maybe that explains why I did this.