![]() While Barnes & Noble has recovered from its 2020 slump, trends have not returned to their pre-pandemic averages. The following summer, masked shoppers began to re-enter stores six feet apart and foot traffic rose to an average of 90,000 visitors each month. ![]() As people were navigating safety precautions in the spring of 2020, foot traffic dropped to barely 20,000. As reported by The List, “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Barnes & Noble saw a monthly average of approximately 110,000 visitors, with a spike to nearly 200,000 during the holidays. Like most businesses, foot traffic significantly decreased during the pandemic. Why would someone drive to a book store, when they can simply pop online and instantly download a book? For solely brick and mortar bookstores, this shift has significantly cut into their revenues. More and more readers have shifted to include eReaders and audio books in their reading routines. The emergence of the digital era opened a variety of new prospects for the publishing sector. “It’s not a question of whether or not we will encounter a storm, but when and how we will navigate and survive the test.” – Pat Day However, the only constant in life is change, and Barnes & Noble’s growth met some unprecedented challenges over the last decade. There was much expansion over the next two decades, and by 1987 a large acquisition saw 797 retail bookstores. With 150,000 book titles, the Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue store soon became known as “The World’s Largest Bookstore”. In 1971 Bookseller Leonard Riggio acquired Barnes & Noble and merged it with his own bookselling enterprises. The store began to flourish, gaining it a reputation for excellence. His son, William Barnes carried the torch forward and alongside Clifford Noble, they opened the very first Barnes & Noble (B&N) bookstore in 1917 on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Barnes opened a small book business from his home in Wheaton, Illinois.
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