Growth ranking
Fastest-growing tracked bookstore chains
Ranked by year-over-year growth of share of tracked local spend. Arrows show movement in the rankings since last year. Each dot in the chart is one tracked chain: bigger market position to the right, faster growth higher up, more tracked stores in a bigger dot. Colors match the store map below. Books-A-Million and Ssalefish Comics sit in the high-growth half.
| Rank | Chain | Rank movement | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Books-A-Million | - | +14.0% |
| 2 | Ssalefish Comics | - | +9.6% |
| 3 | 2nd & Charles | - | +0.8% |
| 4 | Island Bookstore | - | -0.4% |
| 5 | Barnes & Noble | - | -3.8% |
- Barnes & Noble
- Books-A-Million
- 2nd & Charles
- McKay's
- UNC Student Stores
- Wolfpack Outfitters
- University Book Exchange
- Other tracked chains
Store footprint
Store map
262 tracked store locations in North Carolina. The 7 largest tracked chains are highlighted. The top 5 chains by store count run 57 of the 262 stores (22%); 197 of the 206 tracked chains have a single store here. 2% of the tracked retail stores here are bookstores, the same share as across the United States.
- Barnes & Noble (35)
- Books-A-Million (12)
- 2nd & Charles (4)
- McKay's (2)
- UNC Student Stores (1)
- Wolfpack Outfitters (1)
- University Book Exchange (1)
- Other tracked chains
Top tracked chains by store count
- 1 Barnes & Noble 35
- 2 Books-A-Million 12
- 3 2nd & Charles 4
- 4 Ssalefish Comics 3
- 5 Island Bookstore 3
- 6 Forsyth Tech Bookstore 2
- 7 Golden Fig Books 2
- 8 Downtown Books 2
- 9 McKay's 2
- 10 Angry Comics 1
- 11 Angel Wings Bookstore & Bistro 1
- 12 GSO Books 1
- 13 R & B Games, Cards, & Comics 1
- 14 Circle City Books & Music 1
- 15 Reidsville Bible and Book Store 1
- 16 Doc's Basement 1
- 17 Rebel Base Comics & Toys 1
- 18 New Growth Press 1
- 19 Dog Eared Books 1
- 20 Top Hat Comics 1
- 21 Book Shop 1
- 22 Truth Books & Gifts 1
- 23 Marvelous Issues Comic Shop 1
- 24 Homeschool Gathering Place 1
- 25 Persnickety Books 1
- 26 Bona Fide Comics 1
- 27 Cleary's Bookstore 1
- 28 Joy of Books 1
- 29 Nice Price Books 1
- 30 David's Used Books 1
- 31 Fulfillity Books & More 1
- 32 The Next Chapter Books and Art 1
- 33 Catawba College Bookstore 1
- 34 All Things Geeky by 2 Nerds 1
- 35 Lenoir-Rhyne University Bookstore 1
- 36 Comic World 1
- 37 The Book Lady 1
- 38 Pamlico Books 1
- 39 A Novel Escape 1
- 40 Imperial Comics & Games 1
- 41 Central Piedmont Community College Campus Store 1
- 42 City Center Gallery & Books 1
- 43 Walls of Books 1
- 44 Totally Awesome Comics 1
- 45 Enchanted Cottage 1
- 46 So Much More To The Story Bookery 1
- 47 Hero Clash Collectibles 1
- 48 Charis Christian Books and Gifts 1
- 49 Huzzah Books! 1
- 50 Wall Street Books 1
More trends