July retail sales at bookstores slipped for the fourth month in a row. July 2010 sales were off by 2.35 percent, compared with July 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

June retail sales at bookstores dropped for the third consecutive month. June 2010 sales were off by 0.81 percent, compared with June 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

May retail sales at bookstores were off by 2.6 percent, compared with May 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

New "buy local" recycled shopping bags from Ellerkamp; BA elects indie bookstore owner as president; Banks step up opposition to swipe-fee reform; AAP reports book sales for April

April retail sales at bookstores were down by 5.07 percent, compared with April 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

At Tuesday's ABA Day of Education, Jack McKeown, industry consultant and director of New Business Development for Verso Digital, presented consumer demographics and book-buying preferences from the "2010 Survey of Book-Buying Behavior With Verso Digital."

March retail sales at bookstores were up by 1.6 percent, compared with March 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

 February retail sales at bookstores were down by 0.7 percent, compared with February 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census. February 2010 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,003 million, compared with sales of $1,010 million for the same period last year.

Final January sales were $2,275 million, down 0.09 percent from last month's preliminary estimates and 1.9 percent higher than January 2009.

December retail sales at bookstores were down for the third straight month. Bookstore sales decreased by 0.6 percent in December 2009, compared to December 2008, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census. December 2009 bookstore sales are estimated at $2,027 million, compared to sales of $2,039 million for the same period last year.

Retail sales at bookstores were down 0.8 percent for the year.

For 90 minutes on Thursday morning at the Winter Institute, booksellers zeroed in on the provocative aspects of consumer demographics and book-buying preferences offered by Jack McKeown, industry consultant and director of New Business Development for Verso Digital, as he reviewed the results of Verso's recent "Survey of Book Buying Behavior."