Retail Sales at Bookstores Dip in June

By Elizabeth Knapp on Tuesday, Aug 16, 2011

June retail sales at bookstores were down 1.9 percent compared to June 2010, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

June 2011 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,020 million, compared with sales of $1,040 million for the same period last year. The decline in sales followed four straight months of increases.

Total retail and food service sales in June are estimated at $396.6 billion, compared with $368.5 billion in June 2010, an increase of 7.6 percent.
 

Period

2010 Final
(Millions of Dollars)

2011
(Millions of Dollars)

% Change
2011 over 2010

January

2,178

2,072

-4.9

February

962

1,051

9.3

March

962

973

1.1

April

871

888

2

May

1,032

1,048

1.6

June

1,040

1,020 (p)

-1.9

YTD

7,045

7,052 (p)

0.1

(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.