---
title: "Foyles vs Topping & Company Booksellers: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?"
description: "Is Foyles or Topping & Company Booksellers more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Bookstores set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/foyles-vs-toppings"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Foyles vs Topping & Company Booksellers: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?

Is Foyles or Topping & Company Booksellers more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Bookstores set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Compared**: Foyles and Topping & Company Booksellers
- **Competitive set**: Bookstores
- **Market**: United Kingdom
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Foyles Share of Search**: 1.2%
- **Topping & Company Booksellers Share of Search**: 0.92%

## Is Foyles or Topping & Company Booksellers more popular in search?

- In September 2026, Foyles had more branded searches than Topping & Company Booksellers among bookstores in the United Kingdom. Foyles had about 4,400 branded searches, while Topping & Company Booksellers had 3,400. Foyles made up 1.2% of all bookstore searches we track, and Topping & Company Booksellers accounted for 0.92%.
- Foyles was ahead of Topping & Company Booksellers in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Foyles’ share of searches among bookstores in the United Kingdom moved from 0.92% to 1.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 5.4K to 4.4K.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Topping & Company Booksellers’ share of searches among bookstores in the United Kingdom moved from 0.39% to 0.92%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 2.3K to 3.4K.

## Top bookstores in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Foyles was mentioned in three out of four: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Topping & Company Booksellers was mentioned in three out of four: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in the Google AI Overview. Foyles was listed before Topping & Company Booksellers in two out of three answers.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Daunt Books | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| Waterstones | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Foyles | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| Barter Books | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Blackwell's | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Topping & Company Booksellers | 6th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| WHSmith | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 |

## Every AI answer about bookstores

- Asked ChatGPT "Which bookstore should I shop at in the UK?": 1. Waterstones, 2. Daunt Books, 3. Blackwell's, 4. Foyles
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best bookstores in the UK?": 1. Daunt Books, 2. Barter Books, 3. Topping & Company Booksellers, 4. Blackwell's, 5. Foyles
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best bookstore in the UK for a good book selection?": 1. Waterstones, 2. Foyles, 3. Daunt Books, 4. Barter Books, 5. Topping & Company Booksellers
- Searched Google, AI Overview "bookshop uk": 1. Topping & Company Booksellers

Not named in any answer: WHSmith.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 19, 2026.

## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom bookstores in September 2026?

- Estimated monthly branded searches for Topping & Company Booksellers in the United Kingdom rose 46.6% over 12 measured months, from 2.3K to 3.4K in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Foyles in the United Kingdom fell 18.5% over 12 measured months, from 5.4K to 4.4K in September 2026.

## Month by month

| Month | Foyles estimated searches | Foyles Share of Search | Foyles rank | Topping & Company Booksellers estimated searches | Topping & Company Booksellers Share of Search | Topping & Company Booksellers rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 5.4K | 0.92% | 6 | 2.3K | 0.39% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | 4.4K | 0.78% | 6 | 2.2K | 0.38% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | 5.4K | 0.91% | 6 | 2.6K | 0.44% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | 4.4K | 1% | 6 | 2.8K | 0.65% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | 5.4K | 1.6% | 6 | 2.5K | 0.75% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | 4.4K | 1.2% | 6 | 2.6K | 0.68% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | 3.6K | 0.97% | 6 | 2.5K | 0.67% | 7 |
| May 2026 | 3.6K | 0.93% | 6 | 2.8K | 0.72% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | 4.4K | 1.3% | 6 | 4.2K | 1.2% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | 4.4K | 1.2% | 6 | 3.4K | 0.92% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | 5.4K | 1.4% | 6 | 3.9K | 1% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | 4.4K | 1.2% | 6 | 3.4K | 0.92% | 7 |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Foyles’ and Topping & Company Booksellers’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Foyles**: Measured on the search term “foyles bookshop”.
- **Topping & Company Booksellers**: Measured on the search terms “topping and company”, “toppings books” and “toppings bookshop”, summed into one figure.

- [Foyles profile](/demand/uk/brands/foyles)
- [Topping & Company Booksellers profile](/demand/uk/brands/toppings)
- [All bookstores in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-bookstores): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Foyles or Topping & Company Booksellers more popular in search?

In September 2026, Foyles had more branded searches than Topping & Company Booksellers among bookstores in the United Kingdom. Foyles had about 4,400 branded searches, while Topping & Company Booksellers had 3,400. Foyles made up 1.2% of all bookstore searches we track, and Topping & Company Booksellers accounted for 0.92%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Foyles vs Topping & Company Booksellers: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/foyles-vs-toppings

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/foyles-vs-toppings. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.
