Metro by metro
The leading bookstore chains in every South Carolina metro area
Tracked bookstore chains ranked by consumer spend in each metro area, Q4 2025–Q3 2026. Barnes & Noble leads in 4 metro areas, Books-A-Million in 1 metro area. Against their share in South Carolina as a whole, Barnes & Noble stands out in 3 metro areas, Books-A-Million in 1 metro area.
By tracked consumer spend, Q4 2025–Q3 2026
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Barnes & Noble
Relative #1 in 3 metro areas
Greenville, SC 1× · Charleston, SC 1.2× · Columbia, SC 1.1×
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Books-A-Million
Relative #1 in Myrtle Beach, SC, 1.2× its share in South Carolina
Not enough tracked stores: Augusta, GA (SC part) · Charlotte, NC (SC part) · Florence, SC · Spartanburg, SC · Sumter, SC
No ranked chain with 5% of the metro area's spend and 3 stores there: Hilton Head Island, SC
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Barnes & Noble
#1 in 4 metro areas
Greenville, SC · Charleston, SC · Columbia, SC · Myrtle Beach, SC
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Books-A-Million
#1 in Hilton Head Island, SC
Not enough tracked stores: Augusta, GA (SC part) · Charlotte, NC (SC part) · Florence, SC · Spartanburg, SC · Sumter, SC
A metro area shows a ranking once it has at least 2 tracked bookstore chains and 10 tracked stores. Relative to South Carolina compares a chain's share of the metro area's spend with its share in South Carolina as a whole. It ranks the 7 biggest chains in South Carolina and the chains that lead a metro area by spend, wherever a chain has at least 5% of the metro area's spend and 3 stores there. Metro areas are the Census Bureau's metropolitan statistical areas; the rest of South Carolina is light gray. A metro area crossing the state line counts only its stores in South Carolina. Colors match the store map; other tracked chains are gray.
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. Biblestore Outlet and Books-A-Million sit in the high-growth half.
| Rank | Chain | Rank movement | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biblestore Outlet | - | +13.9% |
| 2 | Books-A-Million | - | -3.6% |
| 3 | Barnes & Noble | - | -6.7% |
- Barnes & Noble
- Books-A-Million
- 2nd & Charles
- Clemson University Bookstore
- Collectors Corner
- Chanticleer Store
- Borderlands Comics and Games
- Other tracked chains
Store footprint
Store map
124 tracked store locations in South Carolina. The 7 largest tracked chains are highlighted. The top 5 chains by store count run 39 of the 124 stores (31%); 83 of the 89 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 (18)
- Books-A-Million (14)
- 2nd & Charles (2)
- Clemson University Bookstore (1)
- Collectors Corner (1)
- Chanticleer Store (1)
- Borderlands Comics and Games (1)
- Other tracked chains
Top tracked chains by store count
- 1 Barnes & Noble 18
- 2 Books-A-Million 14
- 3 Biblestore Outlet 3
- 4 As The Page Turns 2
- 5 Planet Comics 2
- 6 2nd & Charles 2
- 7 Books on Broad and Coffee 1
- 8 First Chapter Bookshop 1
- 9 The Certified Nerd 1
- 10 Main Street Reads 1
- 11 University of South Carolina Bookstore 1
- 12 The Book Dispensary 1
- 13 Raptor Comics and Collectibles 1
- 14 Trade A Book 1
- 15 Spencer & Co 1
- 16 Beach Bookshop & Video 1
- 17 The Storybook Shoppe 1
- 18 My Sister's Books 1
- 19 Christian Supply 1
- 20 Jack's Books 1
- 21 NeverMore Books 1
- 22 Collecting Problems 1
- 23 McIntosh Book Shoppe 1
- 24 Cosmic Ray's 1
- 25 The Liberty Book Company 1
- 26 The Bluffton Bookshop 1
- 27 Rock Hill Comics and Games 1
- 28 Fiction Addiction 1
- 29 The Bookworm 1
- 30 Clemson Bookstore - Barnes and Noble 1
- 31 USC Sumter Bookstore 1
- 32 Waterfront Books 1
- 33 Books & More 1
- 34 McDowell's Emporium 1
- 35 By Hand, Ink 1
- 36 Here Be Books & Games 1
- 37 Ed's Editions BookStore 1
- 38 House of Heroes Comics and Collectibles 1
- 39 Philokalia Bookstore 1
- 40 Turning Page Bookshop 1
- 41 Chris's Vault 1
- 42 Bob Jones University Bookstore 1
- 43 Rochester Book & Bible 1
- 44 Pages On Pine 1
- 45 Legends Comics 1
- 46 Coastal Comics 1
- 47 Trade-A-Book 1
- 48 Blue Bicycle Books 1
- 49 Ben Wofford Books 1
- 50 Upstate Bookstore 1
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