Bookstore Sales Drop in December, 2008 Flat Overall

Posted Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009

Retail sales at bookstores this past December are estimated at $2,051 million, a drop of 4.7 percent compared to the $2,152 million in bookstore sales for December 2007, according to statistics recently released by the Bureau of the Census. For the year, bookstore retail sales were $16.9 billion, down an estimated 0.5 percent compared to 2007.

The Census Bureau also adjusted its preliminary estimates of November 2008 bookstore sales down slightly to $1,053 million, putting them at 13.0 percent below November 2007.

Total retail and food service sales fared worse than bookstores sales in December. Retail sales were an estimated $393.1 billion in December 2008, compared to $430.0 billion in December 2007, a decrease of 8.6 percent. For the year, total retail and food service sales are down an estimated 0.2 percent over last year.

Period

2007 Final
(Millions of Dollars)

2008
(Millions of Dollars)

% Change
2008 Over 2007

January

2,195

2,285

4.1

February

1,030

1,144

11.1

March

1,019

1,019

0.0

April

926

1,002

8.2

May

1,125

1,154

2.6

June

1,152

1,074

(6.7)

July

1,213

1,124

(7.4)

August

2,311

2,462

6.5

September

1,564

1507

(3.6)

October

1,123

1,053

(6.2)

November

1,211

1,053

(13.0)

December

2,152

2,051 (p)

(4.7)

YTD

17,021

 16,930 (p)

(0.5)

(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.

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