Print book sales rise as ‘shelfie’ craze hits UK

BOOKSHELVES are making a comeback in living rooms as a “shelfie” interior design craze is sweeping the UK.

Britons’ increasing desire to show off their personality and intellect through their book collections is boosting sales, but will see sales of ebooks fall for the first time, consumer analysts predicted.

According to Mintel, sales of physical books are forecast to rise by 6 per cent this year to £1.7billion while e-book sales are predicted to fall by 1 per cent to £337million.

Experts said consumers’ growing tendency to invest in physical books was partly down to a trend for bookshelves, which they believe make them appear more interesting.

Over the next five years, sales of print books are forecast to grow by 25 per cent to reach £2.1 billion, while ebooks will see only marginal year-on-year increases to reach £383million in 2022.

Russell Whitehead, an award-winning interior designer, told The Daily Telegraph: “If you’re going to enjoy a good book it’s nice to have the physical thing and we are definitely seeing an increase in requests for bookshelves.

“Book makers are cottoning onto this and are making books look beautiful. We are also seeing the rise of the ‘shelfie’ as proud collectors are posting pictures of their book collections.”