Bookstores suffer from inflation

To mark the occasion on this festive day, each customer leaves with a rose on Saturday 15 April. After fifteen years spent in their bookstore in Roubaix (Nord), Louis and Marie-Odile have decided to retire. “We feel that it’s time to move on, we can turn around and say with dignity that we did our job well”, confides Marie-Odile. They tell themselves that they are leaving at the right time, even if they have not been able to find a buyer.

Customers are becoming increasingly rare

Between the increase in the price of energy, raw materials and the cost of transporting books, booksellers are bearing the brunt of the consequences of inflation. “Last year, we were shooting at around 1,000 euros in transport costs per month. There, it almost doubled”laments Louis.

Same observation in a Lille bookstore, where customers have become rarer for a month. “Attendance and the average basket have dropped. So, inevitably, culture comes after”explains a bookseller.