Last Friday, May 19, the data collected by Pepe Research on behalf of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) on book purchasing habits in bookstores (and elsewhere) in the first months of 2023 were presented at the Turin Book Fair.
In light of the recent growth in bookstore sales, we sought to explore (through our April 2023 survey) the motivations driving consumers to go back to physical bookstores.
What we found is that Italians who say they are using bookstores more than last year are doing so mainly because they are purchasing a higher number of books overall. Among those who report preferring bookstores over online channels for their purchases, the main reason is the availability of more attractive promotions (55%), followed by the discovery of a good assortment in physical stores (45%). However, a significant share also highlights the importance of rediscovering the atmosphere of bookstores (26%), an environment that keeps its appeal.
To learn more about these results, here is a selection of media outlets that covered the topic in recent days:
- 19/05/2023 – Spopola il romance, si fa strada la narrativa emotiva by Mauretta Capuano, ANSA
- 19/05/2023 – Il mercato del libro è stabile e i lettori tornano in libreria, anche i più giovani by Alessandra Rotondo, Il Giornale della Libreria
- 21/05/2023 – Editoria: il libro è in crescita e i lettori tornano in libreria by Gianni Santamaria, Avvenire
- 22/05/2023 – Libri, nel primo quadrimestre 2023 si stabilizza la crescita by Riccardo Colletti, IGIZMO
- 28/05/2023 – Il mercato dei libri in Italia in cinque numeri (e una classifica), Infodata – Il Sole 24 Ore
The full dataset is available on the AIE website, where you can also rewatch the presentation from May 19: watch the video.