Has Whitcoulls Decision Not To Participate In BookScan Backfired?

Sources within the book trade tell The Bookman that since Whitcoulls ceased participating in BookScan’s electronic sales data gathering (effective with October sales) the total sales reported for October and November compared with last year have improved from being a number of percentage points down to almost even. Have bookshop sales nationally coincidentally and suddenly taken a significant turn for the better or could it be that Whitcoulls sales have been down by a larger amount than the rest of the trade as with Whitcoulls now excluded the result is much improved.

Earlier report on Whitcoulls pulling out of BookScan.