German book shops record stable sales in 2020

摘要

BDB, the association of the German book trade representing the interests of publishers and booksellers, has made an interim assessment on the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the association, local booksellers managed to increase their online sales considerably, but due to higher handling costs and substantial losses in their brickand mortar business, on balance their economic burden is high. The sector's total sales remained stable at €9.3bn in 2020, up 0.1 per cent from the previous year, reports the association. Accounting for around one quarter of total sales, online trading enjoyed growth of 20.9 per cent to €2.4bn. In contrast, at €3.9bn, business at local book shops remained the most important sales channel although it suffered a 9.0 per cent decline. The perspective for 2021 is also uncertain, the association said: Looking at the first half of the year, brick and mortar book shops registered a 22.9 per cent drop in sales compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Overall sales by booksellers -online and offline - in the first half of 2021 were 3.7 per cent lower than in the first half of 2019 but 4.9 per cent higher than in the first half of 2020.