Industry Statistics

October bookstore sales of $1,064 million were 3.5 percent ahead of the $1,028 million sales figure of a year ago, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch. With the Census Bureau's recent adjustment of September figures upward from $1,491 million to $1,524 million, October is the fifth month in a row that bookstore sales showed improvement over the previous year. Overall retail sales for October 2003 of $320 billion were 7.0 percent ahead of the $299 billion in October 2002.

NRF survey says consumers to spend $17.24 billion on gift cards

Good news continues to fill the cash registers of booksellers, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) in the second installment of its 2003 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, published on November 17. The survey revealed that 60.8 of consumers intended to purchase books, CDs, and DVDs as a holiday gift. Only apparel -- at 62.2 percent.

September bookstore sales were disappointing in the wake of their strong showing in August. September 2003 sales of $1,491 million also lagged 0.9 percent behind the $1,505 million performance a year ago. September was the first month in the last four that bookstore sales failed to show improvement over the previous year. Overall retail sales of $309 billion for September 2003 came in 8.8 percent ahead of the $284 billion in September of 2002. 2002-2003 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES (unadjusted)

'Tis the season to be jolly -- especially if you are a retailer. That, at least, seems to be the conclusion of a new National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. The NRF 2003 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, found that the average consumer plans to spend $671.89 this holiday season, up 3.6 percent from 2002 when consumers spent an average of $648.85.

Recently released Census Bureau estimates for August 2003 show a 15.5 percent increase in retail sales at bookstores over August 2002. August was the third month in a row that bookstore sales showed improvement over the previous year. August 2003 retail sales for bookstores are estimated at $2,108 million, compared to the $1,825 million figure of a year ago. Overall retail sales of $332 billion for August 2003 were 4.1 percent ahead of the $319 billion in August of the previous year.

The results of ABA's semi-annual revenue survey of stores with Book Sense indicate that 59 percent of reporting stores experienced an increase in sales for the first half of 2003, compared to the same period in 2002. Thirty-six percent reported a decline in sales, and 6 percent reported no change in sales from the previous year. A third of responding stores reported sales increases of 6 percent or more, and 21 percent reported increases of more than 10 percent.

This is the final in a series of four articles looking at the results of the recently released 2002 Consumer Research Study on Book Purchasing, conducted by Ipsos BookTrends and published by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). This week's focus is the used book market. In April 2002, Ipsos began to track more consumer data on the purchases of used books. Though the study notes that this is data is insufficient to establish any specific trends, it does provide some insight into what may be future consumer patterns.

This is the third in a series of four articles looking at the results of the recently released 2002 Consumer Research Study on Book Purchasing, conducted by Ipsos BookTrends and published by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). This week's focus is the teen (14 to 17 years old) book market.

Last week's BTW article on July retail sales for bookstores was based on outdated information. The Bureau of the Census periodically updates retail sales data, and its most recent revision of 2002 retail sales figures occurred on September 12, 2003. As a result, BTW is issuing this updated report on July bookstore sales. July sales of $1,130 million were 6.7 percent ahead of last July's $1,059 million. Overall retail sales of $325 billion for July 2003 were 6.2 percent ahead of the $306 billion in July of the previous year.