Barnes & Noble Visits Surpassed 2019 Levels in 2026
Physical bookstore operators should note how aggressive site expansion drove traffic gains beyond pre-pandemic benchmarks.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Retail
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In the second quarter of 2026, Barnes & Noble recorded store visits 33.6% higher than 2019 levels. This growth outperformed the broader U.S. bookstore category, which saw a 16.5% increase over the same 2019 baseline.
Why it matters
The chain's consistent rise in same-store visits since early 2024 demonstrates how physical retail footprints can capture foot traffic when paired with active, year-over-year expansion strategies.
Barnes & Noble visits reached 33.6% above 2019 levels in Q2 2026, significantly outpacing the 16.5% sector growth. The company added 57 new stores in 2024 and at least 60 in 2025, with plans to open at least 60 more during 2026.
The players
Barnes & Noble
The largest national retail bookstore chain in the United States, operating a model focused on physical store expansion.
The details
The company bolstered its market presence by steadily increasing its physical footprint with over 117 new locations opened between 2024 and 2025. This expansion strategy appears to have created a compounding effect, as same-store visits have grown consistently in every quarter since the beginning of 2024. The data indicates that bookstore demand has moved past the sector-wide recovery to pre-pandemic levels observed in late 2023.
Timeline
2019 served as the baseline for measuring store visit performance.
Store visits reached pre-pandemic levels during the fourth quarter of 2023.
Consistent same-store visit growth began in the first quarter of 2024.
Visits reached 33.6% above 2019 levels in the second quarter of 2026.
Market Landscape
The retail industry reached pre-pandemic store visit levels collectively in the fourth quarter of 2023. Barnes & Noble's current growth trajectory represents a divergence from that market-wide plateau, showing that aggressive physical expansion can drive performance beyond the sector average.
Operators should evaluate whether increasing their physical location count is a viable strategy to capture shifting foot traffic patterns. Benchmarking individual store performance against 2019 figures remains a critical exercise to determine if growth is outpacing general market recovery.
The takeaway
The data suggests that physical bookstores can achieve sustained growth even in a digital-first environment when management commits to a consistent store-opening cadence. Owners should track whether their same-store visit growth is holding steady on a quarter-over-quarter basis.
Further reading
For broader trends in physical store performance, explore the Retail section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Chain Store Age.
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