July Bookstore Sales Manage Small Gain
July bookstore sales managed to scratch out a slight increase over July 2001, coming back into positive territory after June’s slight decrease. July 2002 sales were 1.4 percent ahead of the previous July.
Overall retail sales of $308 billion for July 2002 came in 6.6 percent over the $289 billion realized in July of 2001.
July is the sixth month in a row in which bookstore sales failed to keep pace with overall retail.
2001-2002 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES (unadjusted)
| Period | 2001 Final (Millions of Dollars) | 2002 (Millions of Dollars) | % Increase 2002 Over 2001 |
| January | 1,698 | 2,188 | 28.9 |
| February | 1,163 | 1,117 | (4.0) |
| March | 1,165 | 1,126 | (3.3) |
| April | 1,034 | 1,043 | 0.9 |
| May | 1,188 | 1,229 | 3.5 |
| June | 1,201 | 1,156 | (3.7) |
| July | 1,124 | 1,140 (p) | 1.4 |
| YTD | 8,573 | 8,999 | 5.0 |
(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.
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