Britney Spears’ iconic career has taken her to the top of the charts and sold-out venues across the world. She may now be able to add a Christmas book buying spree to her impressive list of accolades.
UK-based book retailer WH Smith has seen a surge in revenue and profits over the past year, and the pop star appears to be partly responsible for the year-end rise as Readers are rushing to read about his extraordinary life before the holiday season. .
According to his Annual Report, WH Smith almost doubled its profits last year as chief executive Carl Cowling hailed the boom in its travel business. Revenue rose 28% to £1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) in the last 12 months.
WH Smith, which has a presence in airports around the world, is experiencing a resurgence alongside the return of large-scale air travel. The group is opening stores in airport lounges around the world and significantly expanding its presence in North America.
Britney is back
But by speaking to GuardianCowling was more inclined to call out the influence of Britney Spears and other authors on an apparent increase in holiday sales.
Cowling spoke about the publication of Spears’ memoir, The woman in mereleased on October 24. British author Richard Osman’s latest crime novel has also been credited with increasing demand.
“It’s not going to increase much but it’s a strong market,” Cowling told the Guardian.
It’s no surprise that WH Smith is riding the tailwind from sales of Spears’ book, which has become a global bestseller. The pop star’s meteoric rise at the turn of the century, combined with a turbulent personal life and a period under the tutelage of her father, captivated readers.
The book sold more than 1.1 million copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to the AP reported.
“I have poured my heart and soul into my memoir and am grateful to my fans and readers around the world for their unwavering support,” Spears said in a statement released by her publisher Gallery Books, per AP.
Spears isn’t the first unlikely source to push consumers back into stores to buy physical books, but she will nonetheless be a boon to companies like WH Smith that rely on copies flying off the shelves.
Hard copies appeal to buyers
Over the past decade, retailers have been forced to deal with the increased availability of e-books on tablets like Amazon’s Kindle or Apple’s iPad. Meanwhile, the audiobook sector is experiencing its own growth with streaming platforms, including Spotify, increasing their investments in the medium.
However, there is a growing increase in demand for physical books, largely supported by social media.
Booktok, a TikTok trend that allows users to review books, is extremely popular on the site and has given shoppers a new reason to order paper books. The hashtag had over 181 billion views as of September, according to Wordsrated.
There were 669 million books sold in the UK last year, according to the Publishers Associationa sales record in the country.
In August, British retailer Theworks credited BookTok phenomenon Colleen Hoover has offset some of its declining profits.
Vacuum cleaner became a celebrity during COVID-19 lockdowns, as TikTokers discovered the romance writer’s catalog, some of which had been published years before. She has sold more than 20 million books.