People used to shame it, but clearly something is working for Aussie shoppers.
Exclusive: As the cost-of-living crisis forces small Australian businesses to close physical stores, one unlikely niche seems to be thriving: romance book stores.
It's because they offer something online shopping "could never compete with".
Once considered taboo, romance is now one of the biggest fiction genres in Australia and accounts for tens of millions of dollars in book sales every year.
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Online book communities and successful book-to-film and -TV adaptations, like Bridgerton and Heated Rivalry, have only made it more mainstream.
But most Aussie readers aren't satisfied with e-books and buying novels online.
More than 75 per cent prefer physical books according to Monash University research, and they're willing to pay a premium for them.
It's all great news for Scarlett Hopper.
She opened Romancing The Novel in Paddington, Sydney less than two years ago and business has been booming.
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It's been so successful that while other retailers are struggling to keep the lights on in one store, Hopper is opening a second location in New Farm, Brisbane this August.
"It's a testament to romance because people used to shame it, they would knock it," Hopper told nine.com.au.
"And they still do, don't get me wrong.
"But clearly something is really working because it's a billion dollar [global] industry."
Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at mleach@nine.com.au
Aussies already come from all over to visit the Sydney store, where they're happy to pay $25 for novels they could get for half the price if they bought a digital version online.
Many are willing to pay up to $75 for special edition books, and some buy whole stacks in a single three- or four-figure transaction.
What sets Hopper's store apart is the experience and community it offers, from in-store book clubs, to author signings and even celebrity appearances.
"A lot of people in retail are really struggling, small businesses are struggling, and it's hard with the state of the world right now," she told nine.com.au.
"But I think for romance, it's so much more than just a retail shop.
"The bookstore is a community [and] right now people want community."
And they're willing to spend their hard-earned cash to be part of that community.
Especially if the physical location is part of the experience; whether it's a pink-drenched terrace shop in Paddington, or a vintage-inspired store above The Grounds at Eveleigh.
Author Kat T. Masen opened her second Books Ever After romance store above the iconic Sydney coffee spot in January.
It opened to a line of 500 people who waited up to three hours just to get in.
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"There are two types of bookstores: a store that sells just books, and a store that makes you feel like you've stepped into heaven," Masen told nine.com.au.
"It creates something which online shopping will never compete with."
That's exactly what she and Hopper offer, and it's why they're expanding while other retailers are shutting their doors.
Masen opened the first Books Ever After store in Bowral, NSW back in 2023.
Customers came in from all over the country and she soon set her sights on a second location in Sydney.
"With everything going on in the world, people are looking for an escape in their own home and what better way to escape then in a book?" Masen said.
"Right now, the demand is for more book stores."
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She ran both stores simultaneously until March, when she shut the Bowral store.
The already quiet town was buckling under the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis and the fuel crisis meant fewer people were willing to make the drive.
But Masen has no plans to downsize the business.
She's already scouting locations for a new store to keep up with demand from readers begging for romance book stores in Adelaide, Melbourne and even Perth.
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