Print renaissance leads to growth of Schuler Books

Print renaissance leads to growth of Schuler Books
Schuler Books. Credit: Courtesy photo

Schuler Books is riding the resurgent book industry to expansion.

The local bookseller, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in September, continues to grow thanks to a nationwide surge in print book sales. Schuler Books is expanding its Ann Arbor location, reopened its Okemos café and is opening a fourth store in West Bloomfield.

That all builds on the strengthening of its 2660 28th St. SE location in Grand Rapids, according to Schuler Books Marketing Coordinator Alana Haley.

“We basically came out of the pandemic stronger than when we went into it, and that’s true of a lot of bookstores,” Haley said. “We were efficient, resourceful and creative. We had a very good online store and made it better, and our web sales went through the roof and stayed there.”

U.S. print book sales rose 9% in 2021, or by 67.8 million, according to market research firm NPD. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, print book sales are up 18%, according to The Author’s Guild.

Interestingly, the number of Americans reading print books stayed at approximately 65%.

While those stats are largely promising for booksellers, including local retailers like Schuler Books, the sales trend might be reversing.

Unit sales of print books dropped 6.6% in the first half of 2022 compared to the year prior, according to Publisher’s Weekly.

Along with more time on their hands during lockdowns, Haley said a turbulent political world and social movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo have helped drive people to read. Likewise, shoppers are realizing the importance of shopping local and shifting away from buying books on online retailers, which drains money from local economies and authors.

“When people were stuck indoors, books became a sort of necessity, it was time to be filled and comfort to be sought,” Haley said. “People realized they needed to shop local if they wanted to keep places in business, if they wanted these places to survive.

“At the same time, customers came to books to educate themselves and learn about issues.”

While shopping online can provide convenience and savings, it can also feel hollow, Haley said.

“It’s almost always a better experience going to a physical store, and our book sellers tend to be thoughtful and well informed,” she said. “Finding a right book is something they take great pride in, it’s better than any algorithm.”

But Schuler Books also found a way to affect the algorithms of major online retailers. The bookstore became a major influencer on TikTok’s BookTok. The social account has more than half a million followers and its book suggestions often attract so much activity it ends up altering Amazon’s algorithms, according to Haley, who also said the retailer has been tagged by stores across the globe.

Between Schuler’s online store’s growth and its newfound social media success, it might seem like the retailer is riding into a new era. But thanks to the resurgence of print books and a time when customers need comfort, Schuler Books is staying true to its foundation.

“Bookstores have been a refuge and are very welcoming and inclusive,” Haley said. “Customers know a bookstore is a safe, warm place to be.”

This story can be found in the Dec. 12 issue of the Grand Rapids Business Journal. To get more stories like this delivered to your mailbox, subscribe here.