During October, bookstore sales slipped for the second month in a row, falling 5.6% to $1.060 billion, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. In September, bookstore sales fell 4.5% compared to the same period a year earlier. For the year to date, bookstore sales have risen 1.3% to $13.833 billion.
By comparison, total retail sales in October dropped 4.7% to $319.183 billion compared to the same period a year ago. For the year to date, total retail sales were up 1.5% to $3,355 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.
---
Publishers' net book sales fell 20.1% to $644.5 million in October, as reported by 80 publishers to the Association of American Publishers. Sales for the year through October were down 3.4% to $8.362 billion.
Among categories:
- E-book sales rose 73% to $5.2 million.
- Adult mass market rose 6.3% to $65.3 million.
- Children's/YA hardcover rose 0.8% to $86.4 million.
- Professional and scholarly sales slipped 4.4% to $46.3 million.
- Audiobook sales dropped 9.1% to $18.4 million.
- University press paperbacks fell 13.9% to $4.2 million
- Children's/YA paperback fell 14.8% to $43.8 million.
- University press hardcovers dropped 20.4% to $6 million.
- Adult paperback dropped 23% to $95 million.
- Adult hardcover fell 25% to $246.2 million.
- Religious books fell 25.6% to $57.1 million.