June bookstore sales rose 1.5%, to $721 million, compared to June 2016, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. This marks the fourth month in a row bookstore sales have risen. For the first six months of the year, bookstore sales are $5.065 billion, up 0.2% over the same period in 2016.
Total retail sales in June rose 3.8%, to $483.7 billion. For the year to date, total retail sales have risen 4%, to $2,776.5 billion.
Note: under Census Bureau definitions, the bookstore category consists of "establishments primarily engaged in retailing new books."