News

Hurt by Success

Christian bookstores hit hard by competition from Wal-Mart.

The popularity of Christian bestselling books such as The Prayer of Jabez and The Purpose-Driven Life has been a double-edged sword for Christian booksellers. Crossover successes raised awareness of Christian books. But when discount retailers and major bookstores began stocking bestselling Christian books, many buyers started driving past the local Christian bookstore in the strip mall and headed for Wal-Mart, Borders, or logged onto online retailers.

“We’ve got a little bit of a Catch-22 here,” says Bill Anderson, president and CEO of CBA, the association for Christian retailers. “We used to complain that not enough people knew that Christian books existed. As more people have become aware, America’s retailers want to sell it, and that has increased our competition.” On some titles, independent Christian stores and even chains sell bestsellers for twice as much as Wal-Mart.

Now, CBA is fighting back. It launched an awareness campaign in April, which included television ads on the Christian Broadcasting Network and encouraged Christians to shop at Christian retail stores.

Hundreds of Christian retailers have closed their doors in recent years. Of 271 Christian retail store closings last year, 21 were CBA member stores. This dropped its count to 2,407 stores, including some store openings this year. Between 2000 and 2002, while the general Christian product market grew by $200 million, business at Christian stores shrank by $100 million.

“The year 2001 was a watershed year,” Anderson said. “Jabez was the number-one [selling book] in the whole world, Desecration was number two, and the number-four bestselling book was [Bruce] Wilkinson’s Secrets of the Vine. That success caught the attention of New York publishers, retailers, and consumers.”

Those who shop at secular retailers hoping for lower prices will likely find non-Christian books alongside Christian ones, said Chris Rodgers, vice president of merchandising at LifeWay Christian Stores, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. “Customers should be able to trust what they find on the shelves of a CBA store as orthodox Christianity.”

Scott Macdonald, president of Lemstone Christian Stores, agreed. “Our customers are looking for a safe place to shop.”

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

CBA has more about its awareness campaign and other efforts to compete with the big boxes at its website.

For a tawdry tale about Christian booksellers, see: Romance genre gets a bit godly | Chick-lit fiction makes play for Christian readers. (New York Times, via Indianapolis Star, Oct. 4, 2004)

Other news stories about the plight of Christian retailing:

It’s Davids vs. Goliaths in Christian retail struggle | The Christian retail industry is a growing business with more than $4 billion in sales annually, but independent stores are losing their share of the pie. (Detroit News, October 10, 2004)

Christian bookstores fighting to preserve their niche | Market share steadily shifting in favor of secular retailers (Knoxville News Sentinel, Tenn. Sept. 23, 2004)

Bringing in the sheep | SLO’s The Parable Group retools marketing to recapture customers who have strayed to big-box bookstores (San Luis Obispo Tribune, Calif. Sep 15, 2004)

Two recent CBA Marketplace articles have focused on keeping heretical books off store shelves and websites. Steve Muse of Eastern Region Watch Ministries posted them, with the permission of CBA.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

The Emergent Mystique

Opportunity Denied

Defending Our Neighbor

Emergent Evangelism

Editorial

Fill an Empty Cradle

Editorial

For Whom Would Jesus Vote?

Hope for Abraham's Sons

Journalism for Jesus

Musings that Swirl

Mutual Mayhem

Dangerous Meditations

Parsing Pop Lyrics

News

Quotation Marks

The Way of Salvation

The Chinese Church's Delicate Dance

Why I Apologized to Planned Parenthood

Winking at Corruption No More

Security Gaffes

Praying for Terrorists

News

Passages

News

<em>Christianity Today</em> News Briefs

News

Go Figure

Wire Story

TBN Under the Microscope

Review

Good News from the Doctor

Q & A: Bobby Welch

Rubber Sharks and Real Kids

The Politics of Stem Cells

Silencing Rights Talk

Serious Love

The Virtue of Vulnerability

Back to the Basics

Bad Believers, Non-Believers

Breaking Covenant

Can This Institution Be Saved?

View issue

Our Latest

Be Afraid

Be Afraid Bonus Episode 3: Scott Teems

Sometimes, thereโ€™s safety in numbers.

News

In Appalachia, Helene’s Water Crisis Taps a Global Christian Response

North Carolina churches are seeing people suffering dehydration. Disaster groups that work overseas are showing up to help.

Public Theology Project

The Bible Doesnโ€™t Fit an Information Age

Algorithms strip us of mystery. The Gospels restore our ability to be astonished by the truth.

Wire Story

Evangelicals for Harris Asked to โ€˜Cease and Desistโ€™ Billy Graham Ad

Franklin Graham says the campaign is โ€œtrying to mislead peopleโ€ by positioning his fatherโ€™s preaching in contrast to Donald Trump.

Facing My Limits in a Flood Zone

As a minister, Iโ€™m used to helping people during crisis. But trapped at home during Hurricane Helene, I could only care for who was in front of me.

5 Lessons Christians Can Learn from the Barmen Declaration

How a wartime confession resisted Hitlerโ€™s Nazification of the German church, and why its principles are still relevant today.

The Russell Moore Show

Autocracy, Robots, and Outlaws

Russell Moore and Ashley Hales, CTโ€™s editorial director for print, discuss what theyโ€™re reading.

News

Back at Shooting Site, Trump Supporters Pray for His Protection

Still shaken by the tragic attack, Butler, Pennsylvania, welcomed the former president back with cheers of triumph and a memorial for the previous rallyโ€™s victim.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube