Charlotte's bookstore boom shows no signs of slowing
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The Wandering Page mobile bookstore opened in February. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
Bookstores are making a comeback nationwide, despite fewer Americans reading books.
Why it matters: Once left for dead in the wake of Amazon's rise and the death of Borders, Barnes & Noble and independent booksellers have pulled off a stunning turnaround, opening new stores and reporting higher sales, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports.
The big picture: A desire for connection is what draws many people to cute, curated and locally owned bookstores in Charlotte.
- For Troubadour Booksellers owner Scott Tynes-Miller, the goal was to create a "community living" room in east Charlotte, he told Axios in 2024 when the store opened.
- Trope Bookshop started as a mobile bookstore in 2023 before opening its permanent home in Plaza Midwood in 2025. The romance-only store has created a passionate community both in-person and online with more than 52,400 Instagram followers.
Zoom in: The broader sense of community also translates to accessibility. Charlotte's bookstore boom has heavily featured mobile bookstores, which give owners flexibility in terms of overhead costs, operating hours and communities served.
- Books on the House, for example, is a nonprofit book collective sharing free books around town.
- Mood Reader Books launched in late 2025. Owner Hannah Emme runs the business out of a 1949 light blue Ford F3.
The latest: Shaenna "Shay" Brown launched The Wandering Page inside a 12-foot-by-6-foot cargo trailer earlier this year.
- You'll find everything from fiction and romance/romantasy to stickers, shirts and hats, plus a section of books for kids. You can keep up with where the trailer will be on her Instagram.
- Brown still works full time as a product designer with dreams of going full time with the mobile bookstore.
What they're saying: Brown tells Axios she opted to open her bookstore now after a trip to Denver, Colorado. She was blown away by the number of indie bookstores there.
- Charlotte doesn't have as many bookstores as other cities, despite being the 14th largest city in the country, Brown says. "We're kind of thirsting for books here," she says.
Zoom out: The number of U.S. bookstore companies rose 70% from 2,010 in 2021 to 3,416 in 2025, American Booksellers Association data shows.
- 73% of booksellers recorded a sales increase in 2025, with more than 47% saying sales rose at least 6%.
Yes, but: 36% of Americans say they're reading fewer books than they did a decade ago, according to a June CBS News poll.
- Only 23% are reading more, and 40% are reading about the same.
- Meanwhile, AI-generated summaries and dwindling attention spans due to social media threaten to undermine bookstores.
What we're watching: AI threatens to disrupt information consumption, Bomey writes, and certain genres are slumping — but bookstores have remade themselves as a hideaway from modern distractions and a place of authentic discovery.
- "You have people deciding that they want to align their work with their values, and they're passionate about bookstores, they're passionate about their community," Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, says.