Bookstore sales in February fell 6.4%, to $626 million, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. In the first two months of the year, bookstore sales fell 8.9%, to $1.73 billion.
By comparison, independent bookstores have done better than the Census Bureau average. Through March 6, roughly the same two-month period as measured by the Census Bureau, sales at ABA member stores, as reported to the weekly bestseller lists, are up nearly 2% over 2018.
Total retail sales in February rose 2.1%, to $446.7 billion. In the first two months of the year, total retail sales rose 2.7%, to $906.14 billion.
Note: under Census Bureau definitions, the bookstore category consists of "establishments primarily engaged in retailing new books."