Romance Bookstore Update: March 2026
There are now 259 physical romance bookstores worldwide; 9 new physical stores opened in March.
April marks the one-year anniversary of the Romance Bookstore Directory! It started with 161 bookstores in April 2025 and now there are 445 stores in the directory—a 176% increase! As announced in my post earlier this week, I’ve also introduced a new Supporter designation to recognize romance bookstores that financially support the directory. Thank you to all the supporters!
In other news, Pittsburgh will soon have two romance bookstores when The Shelf Love Society opens in April, joining Passionate Pages which opened at the end of January. While there are several other examples of two romance bookstores cities, this is the first time the stores will be located on the same street! (Butler Street in Lawrenceville, for those familiar with Pittsburgh.) You can read more in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story (linking to it on PressReader to avoid the paywall).
Okay, on to the numbers.
Overview
According to my research, there are now 259 physical romance bookstores in 11 countries around the world, 179 (or 69%) of which are in the United States.
If we also include online and pop-up romance bookstores, the total number of stores grows to 428 (303 or 71% of which are in the United States).
Growth of Physical Stores
So far in 2026, there has been a net increase of 32 physical romance bookstores worldwide (33 have opened, 1 has closed). In the United States specifically, there’s been a net increase of 24 physical romance bookstores.
Growth Rates
I’ve discovered more physical romance bookstores that opened in 2025, so I’ve updated the growth rates as follows:
Worldwide
2022: 10 stores
2023: 32 stores, 230% increase
2024: 92 stores, 179% increase
2025: 227 stores, 147% increase
3-Year Growth Rate from 2023 to 2025: 588%
United States
2022: 5 stores
2023: 18 stores, 260% increase
2024: 65 stores, 261% increase
2025: 155 stores, 138% increase
3-Year Growth Rate from 2023 to 2025: 761%
Have you heard about the Insider version of the Romance Bookstore Directory?
It’s a new benefit for my annual paid subscribers.
These detailed updates are a benefit for paid subscribers (only US$5/month or US$50/year). Everyone can see the high-level numbers before the paywall, but you’ll need to subscribe for all the juicy details…including a list of all the upcoming romance bookstore openings! 🗓️
There are now 445 bookstores in the directory (including Coming Soon)—16 were added in March.
The following is a breakdown of bookstores by type: Physical, Online, Pop-up, and Coming Soon along with a list of ALL the recently opened and added stores in each category!
📌 Please note that these categories overlap—a store can categorized as multiple types. For example, a bookstore can be online and have pop-ups, with a physical location coming soon.