Retail Sales at Bookstores Up in December

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Retail sales at bookstores were up by 9.6 percent in December 2015 compared to December 2014, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

December 2015 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,419 million, compared to sales of $1,295 million for the same period last year.

Total retail and food service sales in December 2015 are estimated at $515 billion, compared to $500 billion in December 2014, an increase of 3 percent.

For the year, total bookstore sales came to $11,173 million, up 2.6 percent from $10,889 million in 2014.

Period

2014 Final
(Millions of Dollars)

2015
(Millions of Dollars)

% Change
2015 over 2014

January

1,438

1,426

-0.8

February

700

683

-2.4

March

653

660

1.1

April

655

658

0.5

May

759

764 

0.7

June

672

699 

4.0

July

677

717

5.9

August

1,615

1,557

-3.6

September

1,022

1,089

6.6

October

699

745

6.6

November

704

756

7.4

December

1,295

1,419 (p)

9.6

YTD

10,889

11,173 (p)

2.6

(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.