Retail Sales at Bookstores Down in December

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Retail sales at U.S. bookstores were down by 8.2 percent in December 2017 compared to December 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.

The independent bookstore channel ended the year with a 2.6 percent increase over 2016. As of February 6, the year-to-date sales for independent bookstores, as reported to the weekly Indie Bestseller Lists, were up more than 4 percent over 2017.

The Census Bureau reported that December 2017 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,182 million, compared to sales of $1,288 million for the same period the previous year. Total retail and food service sales in December 2017 are estimated at $561.9 billion, compared to $542 billion in December 2016, an increase of 3.7 percent.

Period

2016 Final
(Millions of Dollars)

2017
(Millions of Dollars)

% Change
2017 over 2016

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

690 

-3.8

November

744

703

-5.5

December

1,288

1,182 (p)

-8.2

YTD

11,136

10,729 (p)

-3.7

(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.