- Categories:Industry News [1]
Retail Sales at Bookstores Down in October [3]
- By Sydney Jarrard [4]
Retail sales at U.S. bookstores were down by 4.6 percent in October 2017 compared to October 2016, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census. Estimates reflect sales of all types of participating bookstores, including trade, college, religious, chain stores (including superstores), and others.
Sales for independent bookstores, as reported to the weekly Indie Bestseller Lists, were up slightly more than two percent year to date.
The Census Bureau reported that October 2017 bookstore sales are estimated at $684 million, compared to sales of $717 million for the same period last year. Total retail and food service sales in October 2017 are estimated at $476.9 billion, compared to $454.6 billion in October 2016, an increase of 4.9 percent.
Period |
2016 Final |
2017 |
% Change |
January |
1,451 |
1,424 |
-1.9 |
February |
710 |
690 |
-2.8 |
March |
708 |
709 |
0.1 |
April |
701 |
733 |
4.6 |
May |
774 |
788 |
1.8 |
June |
710 |
707 |
-0.4 |
July |
686 |
672 |
-2.0 |
August |
1,564 |
1,415 |
-9.5 |
September |
1,083 |
1,016 |
-6.1 |
October |
717 |
684 (p) |
-4.6 |
YTD |
9,104 |
8,838 (p) |
-2.9 |
(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.