Designing bookstores for the reading renaissance

Janine Flanigan, Director of Store Planning & Design at Barnes & Noble, talks about the store concept

A woman laughs into the camera; Copyrigth: Barnes & Noble

18.04.2023

by Julia Pott

If you follow Barnes & Noble's press releases lately, it's not uncommon to read about new store openings. Barnes & Noble (B&N) attributes the expansion of its store network to “a reading renaissance and renewed enthusiasm for physical bookstores”.

If anyone can judge changes in reading habits, it's probably B&N; after all, the company has a long history. It was 1873, when Charles M. Barnes started a book business from his home in Illinois. Today, B&N operates stores in all 50 U.S. states.

Janine Flanigan is Vice President of Store Planning & Design at Barnes & Noble, Inc. and has more than two decades of experience in store planning, design and merchandising. Since 2001, she has continuously developed within the company and today plays a key role in shaping the appearance of the stores.

We asked Janine Flanigan, responsible for store planning and design, how the concept has changed:

a branch of the bookseller Barnes & Noble with bookshelves; Copyright: Barnes & Noble

Janine Flanigan noticed that during the pandemic – and specifically during the shutdown – people started reading again and realized how much they enjoyed it. They also used different platforms to communicate about books like BookTok which is a subcommunity on the app TikTok.

a branch of the bookseller Barnes & Noble with bookshelves and book tables; Copyright: Barnes & Noble

“BookTok became a craze across a lot of young people,” Janine observed. “There was an enthusiasm and a community around BookTok.” She adds: “There's been this renewed interest in reading, and that’s been really good for us. We're planning to open anywhere between 30 and 50 new stores.”

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JJanine is very happy that consumers come to B&N to buy books. “But we also welcome and encourage them to sit and read and browse and enjoy,” she says. For that reason, many locations, especially the new ones, are receiving seating.

New stores get a revamped, more modern design, explains Janine: “We've modified the design dramatically. We've changed the color, the paint, the feel. It’s brighter now, and more open.”

Janine notes that modern store design has changed with the way books are sold. “The store managers are really curating their selections based on their demographic and their customer interest. They create their own displays, so there is more display space and more furniture like tables for them to celebrate those choices.”

Another part of the new design concept are the book rooms. “In our old stores we had runs and runs of bookcases. Now there are these cozy book rooms. They influence how you navigate the store,” Janine illustrates.

“There's a fiction room, a history room, a kids’ section, and so on. So customers can bounce from room to room,” says Janine.

“We want people to come in, pick up a magazine or a book, sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or any kind of beverage. Most of the new stores are planned with cafés, if they have enough square footage.” <br/> © Barnes & Noble

Another part of the new concept are gastronomic offers. “In the new stores (depending on the size of the store) we've been adding cafés,” Janine tells us. “We find a lot of success with the cafés.”