Barnes & Noble Expands Beyond Books

Barnes & Noble Inc is adding home products and consumer electronics to the items available on its online marketplace, the latest move by the retailer to rely less on book sales and fend off e-commerce rivals like Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc .

Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. bookstore chain, has largely focused on books for its marketplace. Members will now also be able to buy and sell items like rugs, cooking items and children's games, the company said on Thursday.

The retailer has struggled with declining book sales for years, but its online sales, helped by its Nook e-reader and digital books, have soared.

Sales on its bn.com rose 36.9 percent to $198 million in its most recent quarter and now account for 14 percent of overall sales.