Rise of e-books results in 50% of bookshops closing down
Due to the rise of e-books and the consumer downturn, the number of bookshops in Britain has more than halved in seven years.
According to data from Experian there are only 1,878 bookshops left in Britain, compared to 2005 when there were 4,000 open, with almost 400 closed this year.
British readers spent £261 million on e-books last year compared with £138 million last year, using sites such as Amazon to get the best deals. Meanwhile sales of physical books fell from £3.3 billion last year to £3.1 billion.
Tim Godfray, the chief executive of the Booksellers Association, told the Telegraph that things were “exceedingly tough” for bookshops, who are facing high costs and growing pressure from the internet.
However Godfrey said the closure rate of bookshops was declining: “While the overall picture in terms of the number of independent booksellers in the UK is still one of contraction, our figures contradict the Experian results and indicate this rate of decline has been slowing for the last two years.”
He added: “We are not seeing the end of the bookshop."