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March Bookstore Sales Outpace Overall Retail
Printer-friendly versionMarch bookstore sales continued the generally upward trend of the last 10 months, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census. March 2004 bookstore sales of $1,076 million were 11.7 percent better than the $963 million for March 2003.
Bookstore sales in March outpaced overall retail sales. Overall retail sales were $336 billion for March 2004, 10.5 percent better than the $304 billion 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 (p)
|
11.7
|
| YTD |
4,178
|
4,373
|
4.7
|
(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.