During September, bookstore sales slipped again after having risen in August, falling 4.5% to $1.494 billion compared to September 2007, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. For the year to date, bookstore sales have risen 1.8% to $12.76 billion.
By comparison, total retail sales in September dropped 0.2% to $320.1 billion compared to the same period a year ago. For the year to date, total retail sales were up 2.3% to $3,036 billion.
Note: under Census Bureau definitions, bookstore sales are of new books and do not include "electronic home shopping, mail-order, or direct sale" or used book sales.