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April Bookstore Sales Flat After Strong March
Printer-friendly versionBookstore sales in April dipped slightly below April 2003 levels, interrupting the mostly upward trend of the last 11 months. April 2004 bookstore sales of $1,015 million were off 0.3 percent from the $1,018 million for April 2003.
As a result, bookstore sales in April failed to keep up with overall retail. Overall retail of $332 billion for April 2004 was 8.9 percent better than the $305 billion for April of the previous year.
|
Period
|
2003 Final
(Millions of Dollars) |
2004
(Millions of Dollars) |
% Increase
2004 Over 2003 |
| January |
2,172
|
2,153
|
(0.9)
|
| February |
1,043
|
1,144
|
9.7
|
| March |
963
|
1,076
|
10.8
|
| April |
1,018
|
1,015 (p)
|
(0.3)
|
| YTD |
5,196
|
5,379
|
3.5
|
(p) Preliminary figure
Note: Estimates reflect sales of all types of participating bookstores, including trade, college, religious, chain stores (including superstores), and others. A bookstore is defined as any retail establishment with sales comprised of more than 50 percent new books and periodicals, and estimates include sales of all products in these stores.
Source: Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch.