US Bookstore sales down in October but up year to date

October bookstore sales dipped 1%, to $774 million, compared to October 2015, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. This marked only the second time this year that bookstore sales have fallen compared to the same period in 2015--in July bookstore sales dropped 0.9% compared to July 2015--and seemed to confirm some book retailers' reports of a slowdown in sales during the election period.

For the year to date, bookstore sales have risen 3.6%, to $9.775 billion.
Total retail sales in October rose 2.1%, to $453.7 billion. For the year to date, total retail sales have risen 2.9%, to $4,495 billion.

Note: under Census Bureau definitions, the bookstore category consists of "establishments primarily engaged in retailing a general line of new books. These establishments may also sell stationery and related items, second-hand books, and magazines."