Why Half Price Books is betting on strong holiday sales

While some may have predicted that the rise of e-books and e-readers would spell the death of physical books, the real story has been a page-turner in every sense.

Sales of physical books have risen from 689.5 million units in 2019 to 782.7 million in 2024, a 13.5% increase, according to Circana Bookscan data cited by Publishers Weekly. In the first three quarters of 2025, sales of ye olde paperbacks and hardcovers were down just 0.9% from the same period last year.

Among those who remain bullish about Americans’ fondness for the physical artifact of a book is Half Price Books (HPB), a 53-year-old family-owned bookstore chain which has been on a roll this year:

• Sales were up 6.9% YoY in Q1, 8.9% in Q2, and 7.7% in Q3, with HPB projecting gains for Q4 as well, according to the company.

In an interview with Retail Brew, Kathy Doyle Thomas, who was hired by the company 36 years ago and today serves as its president, said that with HPB’s emphasis on selling new books at a discount and used books alongside them, it’s a draw for consumers who feel stretched by tariffs and rising grocery prices.

“We’re a value brand,’” Thomas said. “Value brands do better when people are struggling.”

Other bookstore chains are also thriving, most notably Barnes & Noble, which plans to open more than 60 new locations this year.

Read all about it: Like many retailers, HPB’s biggest sales month is December, followed by August and July. While part of the summer bump is no doubt vacationers purchasing beach reads, Thomas explained that the summer months, especially July, are the biggest months for purchasing by the bookseller.

“People do a lot of spring cleaning, starting in April and May, and if they’re going to relocate, they’re going to want to be in their new house when their kids start school,” Thomas said. “They’re clearing out their bookshelves, and they’re selling to us.” During the summer, she continued, “used product coming into the stores is double what you see in December.”

Like other used bookstores, the retailer’s customers also are its most important suppliers, with stores’ inventory consisting of roughly 80% used books and 20% new. And while many selling used books to HPB are no doubt cobbling together rent, plenty do so to support their book habit. Nearly half (45%) of the payment vouchers HPB issues to those who’ve sold them books are redeemed for a new purchase at the store, with the remainder being cashed out without a purchase, according to the company.

Pump up the volumes: HPB began in 1972, when Pat Anderson and Ken Gjemre opened the first location in a former laundromat in Dallas.

From the early days, it exuded a certain voraciousness about the books, movies, and music it both purchased and sold, with the founders coining the motto, “We buy and sell everything ever printed or recorded (except yesterday’s newspaper).”

Today it has 115 locations in 19 states and its CEO, Sharon Anderson, is the daughter of co-founder Pat Anderson.

While the company has warehouses in Ohio and Texas, its store locations serve that purpose, too, for online orders.

“All of our stores are set up like mini-warehouses and all of our product across the chain is listed and will come off the shelf” at stores, Thomas said. Plus, the item will come from the nearest store where it’s on the shelf, saving the company on shipping costs.

“We’re very strategic [about] where the book comes from,” Thomas said. “We have to protect our margins.—AAN