Hundreds of thousands of books sold at Polish Post offices
Last year, Poczta Polska customers purchased nearly 630,000 books at our branches. Although publicly available information indicates that the average print run for a book in Poland is approximately 2,000 copies, many titles available at post offices sell significantly more.
Among the books most frequently purchased by post office customers last year, three categories of guides should be mentioned: organic farming, health and natural medicine, and kitchen-cooking.
The clear sales hit in 2024 was a book that had been on the market for over 30 years. It was "The Ecological Moon Guide," which, as the publisher writes, "continues to help gardeners, allotment gardeners, and farmers cultivate crops in harmony with nature." Poczta Polska customers also eagerly purchased "Dni siewu" (Sowing Days), which offers information on how to naturally utilize the cycles of nature in agriculture. It's also interesting that these books sold well not only in smaller towns – apparently, they are also purchased by people who are not farmers but only have home gardens.
In the health category, the most frequently purchased titles included the "Grandma's Pharmacy" series, "Medicines Straight from Nature," "Polish Medicinal and Healing Herbs," "Herbs: How to Collect and Process," "Herbs, Tinctures, Syrups, and More," "Herbal Medicine of the Brothers Hospitallers," "From the Tradition of Father Klimuszko," "Treat Infections in Children with Herbs," "A Guide to Pain Management," "How to Take Care of Your Sleep," "Insulin Resistance," and "Diabetes and Life." Seniors, or customers of other ages, but with seniors in mind, also readily purchased the guides "A Centenarian in Great Shape" and "Mind Training for Seniors."
Among the culinary books, the following titles were popular: "Kitchen full of vegetables", "Healthy intestine diet", "Diet for the brain", "Homemade pickles", "Fit desserts", "Tasty and healthy", "Culinary Wiola", "Baba na keto" and "KETO desserts".
Psychological self-help books also flew off the shelves in many locations, including "How to Read Emotions," "How to Love and Be Loved," "Fear," "Relax, Woman," and educational guides like "Computer and Internet for Seniors," "Drawing Course for Everyone," and "Core Training." The hit "Peasants" (Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak) also sold well, as did books like "Elon Musk: Innovator, Entrepreneur, and Visionary" (Chris McNab), "The Lovers of Auschwitz" (Magdalena Adaszewska), "Almas: Diamond of the Desert" (Kinga Jesman), "Cafe Full of Dreams" (Agnieszka Lis), and crime novels by Justyna Jelińska.
Lovers of travel, handicrafts, crime novels, historical novels, romances, stories about the afterlife, sports, and animals also flocked to post offices for books. Among travel books, the best-selling titles were "Poland. Dream Journeys" and "Beautiful Poland," among hobby books – "Crochet from A to Z," among crime novels – "Neighbor" (Justyna Jelińska), historical novels – "Medalion with a Pearl" (Anna Bolecka), romances – a mix of romance and love books, books about the afterlife or near-death experiences – "Heaven is More Wonderful Than You Think" and "Life Beyond Death's Doorstep," sports books – "World Football Stars," and among animal books – "Horse. A Caregiver's Guide," "Dog. A Caregiver's Guide," "Cat. A Caregiver's Guide," and "Catology."
Poczta Polska customers also eagerly bought activity books for early school children, supporting learning to read, write and count, as well as books preparing for exams (e.g. the eighth-grade exam).
Poczta Polska not only sells books but also supports and promotes reading. For several months, selected branches have been hosting author meetings with popular authors, whose books are available for purchase at post offices. So far, readers have had the opportunity to meet Justyna Jelińska (crime novels), Monika Wawrzyńska (funeral literature), Agnieszka Lis (social fiction), and Krystyna Mirek (social fiction). The project will continue, and plans are underway to organize meetings not only with novelists.
In many locations where books are available, the post office is the only place in the area where you can buy literature, guides, and educational materials for children and young people.
According to a report by the Book Institute, Poles spent nearly PLN 4.5 billion on books in 2023. A study by IMAS International commissioned by the National Debt Register and Reliable Company shows that 42% of Poles buy books in brick-and-mortar bookstores, 34% on online platforms, 28% in e-bookstores, and 19% in grocery stores as part of their daily shopping.