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Bookstore Sales Down First Time in Two Years
Printer-friendly versionAfter 24 months of uninterrupted growth, bookstore sales dropped below their performance of a year ago. Preliminary February sales figures of $1,066 million lagged 8.3 percent behind the $1,163 million of February 2001. This decrease is in stark contrast to the nearly 29 percent increase in sales shown in January of this year.
For the same period, overall retail managed a modest increase. Overall sales of $263 billion for February were 3.5 percent over the $254 billion for the previous February.
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2001-2002 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES (unadjusted)
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Period
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2001 Final (Millions of Dollars)
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2002 (Millions of Dollars)
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% Increase 2002 Over 2001
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January
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1,698
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2,188
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28.9
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| February |
1,163
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1,066 (p)
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(8.3)
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YTD
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2,861
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3,254
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13.7
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(p) Preliminary figure
Note: Estimates reflect sales of all types of participating bookstore, 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.