Bookstore Sales Rise 6% in April

Marking the first positive sales month this year, bookstore sales in April rose 3.4%, to $693 million, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. For the first four months of the year, bookstore sales fell 6%, to $3.07 billion.

By comparison, independent bookstores have done better than the Census Bureau average, which includes a range of retailers that sell books. Through April 18, almost as long as the four-month period measured by the Census Bureau, sales at ABA member stores, as reported to the weekly bestseller lists, are even with 2018.

Total retail sales in April rose 5.6%, to $511.1 billion. In the first four months of the year, total retail sales rose 2.6%, to $1.9 trillion.

Note: under Census Bureau definitions, the bookstore category consists of "establishments primarily engaged in retailing new books."

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