US Bookstore Sales Jump Again, Up 9.7% in April

Shelf Awareness

April bookstore sales jumped 9.7%, to $757 million, compared to April 2015, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. This marked the eighth month in a row that bookstore have risen, following a gain of 10.7% in March, 7.2% in February, 3.8% in January, 9.6% in December, and rises of nearly 7% in September and October and 7.5% in November.

For the year to date, bookstore sales have risen 6.8%, to $3.84 billion.

Total retail sales in April rose 2.9%, to $451 billion. For the year to date, total retail sales have risen 3.5%, to $1,725 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