May Bookstore Sales Disappointing
Sluggish bookstore sales in May, coming in the wake of flat sales in April, were disappointing -- especially when contrasted with the healthy performance of overall retail for the same period. May 2004 bookstore sales of $1,095 million lagged 4.2 percent behind the $1,143 million of May 2003.
By comparison, overall retail sales of $346 billion for May 2004 was 6.8 percent better than the $324 billion for May of 2003.
2003-2004 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES (unadjusted)
| Period | 2003 Final (Millions of Dollars) | 2004 (Millions of Dollars) | % Change 2004 over2003 |
| January | 2,172 | 2,153 | (0.9) |
| February | 1,043 | 1,144 | 9.7 |
| March | 963 | 1,067 | 10.8 |
| April | 1,018 | 1,016 | (0.2) |
| May | 1,143 | 1,095 (p) | (4.2) |
| YTD | 6,339 | 6,475 | 2.1 |
(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.
Source: Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch.
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