Industry Statistics

Retail sales at bookstores this past March matched the performance of March 2004. Although not a strong performance, March sales put an end to the decline of recent months. Preliminary March 2005 figures recently released by Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch estimate retail sales at bookstores at $1,036 million, the same as last March.

Overall retail sales remain strong and continue to outperform bookstore sales. Overall retail sales of $346 billion for March 2005 were 7.5 percent ahead of the $322 billion reported in March 2004.

Retail sales in bookstores in February were soft and continued the general decline of recent months. February 2005 bookstore sales of $1,027 million were 4.2 percent off the $1,072 million in sales of February 2004.

Overall retail sales continued to outperform bookstore sales. Overall retail sales of $301 billion for February 2005 were 5.6 percent ahead of the $285 billion reported in February 2004.

January bookstore sales registered a marked decline from the previous January. This drop, coming in the wake of an eight-month decline last year (followed by a relatively strong December), suggests that the softness in the book market continues. January 2005 bookstore sales of $1,887 million were 12.4 percent below the $2,153 million of January 2004. And January 2004 was slightly lower than the $2,172 million of January 2003.

Preliminary reports from the Current Retail Trade Branch of the Bureau of the Census show retail sales at bookstores during December 2004 were fractionally higher than the previous December. Sales for the final month of the year ended an eight-month slide in bookstore sales and offered hope that bookstore sales may finally be turning the corner. December 2004 bookstore sales of $2,122 million were 0.05 percent higher than the $2,121 million of December 2003.

The Book Sense Gift Card Program experienced healthy growth during 2004. The number of participating stores has risen to approximately 250 locations, and between October 1 and December 31, 2004, the average sale-per-card rose by 3.1 percent compared to the same period in 2003.

Bookstore sales for November fell marginally below November 2003 levels. This marked the eighth month in a row that they failed to equal the performance of 2003, although the November decline was less than that of recent months.

November 2004 bookstore sales of $1,069 million were 1.9 percent below the $1,090 of November 2003.

Overall retail sales continued to outperform bookstore sales. Overall retail sales of $342 billion for November 2004 were 8.9 percent better than the $314 billion reported in November 2003.

October bookstore sales continued the downward slide that began in the spring. Sales have now been lower than last year's for seven straight months. October 2004 bookstore sales of $1,056 million were 4.8 percent below the $1,109 million recorded in October 2003.

Overall retail sales continue to outperform bookstore sales. Overall retail sales of $338 billion for October 2004 were 6.3 percent better than the $318 billion reported in October 2003.

Bookstore sales in September continued the downward slide that began in April. Sales have been lower than last year’s sales for six straight months now. September 2004 bookstore sales of $1,526 million were 3.8 percent below the $1,586 recorded in September 2003.

Overall retail sales continue to outperform bookstore sales. Overall retail sales of $332 billion for September 2004 were 8.1 percent better than the $307 billion reported in September 2003.

Depending on which holiday sales forecast ends up being the most accurate, retailers will either be shouting, "It's A Wonderful Life!" or grumbling "Bah, Humbug!" when the season is over and final holiday sales are tallied. Two recently released holiday sales forecasts, one from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the other appearing in the Kiplinger Letter, paint contrary pictures for the upcoming holiday season.

August is the fifth month in a row in which bookstore sales have trailed last year's figures. August 2004 bookstore sales of $2,079 million were 4.1 percent lower than the $2,167 for August 2003.

In contrast, overall retail sales of $345 billion for August 2004, were 4.5 percent better than the $330 billion reported in August 2003.

Year-to-date bookstore sales, incorporating the negative performance of the past five months, show no gain over the same time period last year.

Bookstore sales remained soft with July revenue off for the fourth month in a row. July 2004 bookstore sales of $1,153 million were 1.9 percent lower than the $1,175 million seen in July 2003.

Bookstore sales continued to disappoint, especially when contrasted with the strong performance of overall retail for the same period.

Overall retail of $347 billion for July 2004 was 7.4 percent better than the $323 billion in July

This week, the American Booksellers Association published the results of the 2004 ABACUS study on BookWeb.org. Accessible to ABA bookstore members only, this year's study, which achieved a participation rate of 11 percent with 181 bookstores submitting financial data, focused on providing participating businesses, and the independent bookselling community at large, with year-to-year trends, based on the results of bookstores participating in both the 2003 and 2004 studies.

Bookstore sales were down in June continuing the slide that began in April. The results were disappointing, particularly when compared with the strong performance of overall retail for the same period.

June 2004 bookstore sales of $1,187 million were 2.9 percent off the $1,222 million realized in June 2003.

By comparison, overall retail sales of $339 billion for June 2004 were 8.3 percent ahead of the $313 billion for June 2003.

Booksellers who participated in this year's 2004 ABACUS study are now receiving their full ABACUS report and personalized store comparison. Repeating the study's first year's success, ABACUS 2004 achieved a participation rate of 11 percent, with 181 bookstores submitting financial data to the study. The result is a detailed analysis that provides key insights into the drivers of store profitability.

Consumers spent more on children's books in 2003 than for each of the previous seven years, according to Ipsos BookTrends(SM), which announced results of 2003's key findings about the children's book industry in June. The report, based on continuous reporting from a panel of 16,000 households, found that consumer spending on books purchased for children under 14 years old increased nearly 11 percent in 2003 over 2002.