According to a report by bookstore expert Leif Olsson, the main cause behind the mass death of bookstores in Sweden is free pricing, which makes it difficult for physical stores to compete against online retail. Since the turn of the millennium, every third bookstore in Sweden has disappeared. Between 2000 and 2024, the number of bookstores in Sweden decreased from 327 stores to 222.
Between 2010 and 2020, an average of ten bookstores closed each year in Sweden. 62 of the closed bookstores had been in operation for over 100 years. In 2000, 70 percent of Sweden's municipalities had a bookstore; in 2024, it was 49 percent.
I survive, but it's demanding.
The majority of Sweden's municipalities are now without a bookstore. Several countries, including Norway, Germany, France, and Spain, have retained fixed prices for books. In France, the publisher's price applies, but in Sweden, retailers can set any price they want.
A French so-called 'anti-Amazon law' also requires that shipping fees be charged on books. Didier Mourmant, an 80-year-old in Lund, is still keeping his bookstore open. Mourmant estimates that about 40,000 books fit in his store.
I think it works as it is here, I like being able to set my own prices.
"I survive, but it's demanding," Mourmant said. " It is unknown what specific measures, if any, are being considered by Swedish authorities to support physical bookstores. The economic impact of bookstore closures on local communities in Sweden also remains unclear.
Mourmant's store has been operating since 1983.