Retail Sales at Bookstores Down in October

Retail sales at U.S. bookstores were down by 1.7 percent in October 2019 compared to October 2018, 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.

As of December 18, the year-to-date sales among ABA member stores, as reported to the weekly Indie Bestseller Lists, are down 0.03 percent over 2018. Compound annual growth among ABA member stores is 7.5 percent over the past five years. 

The Census Bureau reported that October 2019 bookstore sales are estimated at $710 million, compared to sales of $722 million for the same period the previous year. Total retail and food service sales in October 2019 are estimated at $525.9 billion, compared to $506.4 billion in October 2018, an increase of 3.9 percent.

(p) Preliminary figure

Monthly retail sales were revised on June 25, 2019, based on the results of the 2017 Annual Retail Trade Survey.