Industry Statistics

Retail sales at bookstores during October 2008 are estimated at $1,060 million, a drop of 5.6 percent from the $1,123 million in bookstore sales for the same period last year, according to statistics recently released by the Bureau of the Census. For the year to date, retail bookstore sales are up an estimated 1.3 percent compared to 2007. The Census Bureau also adjusted its preliminary estimates of September 2008 bookstore sales upward to $1,507 million, putting them at 3.6 percent below September 2007.

Sales during September are estimated at $1,494 million, compared to sales of $1,564 million for the same period last year. For the year to date, bookstore sales are up 1.8 percent. The Census Bureau also adjusted its preliminary estimates of August 2008 bookstore sales upward to $2,462 million, putting them at 6.5 percent above August 2007. Total retail and food service sales fared better than bookstores sales in September. Retail sales were $357.7 billion in September 2008, compared to $357.5 billion in September 2007, a slight increase of 0.6 percent.

Sales Rep Group Changes NAIBAhood News, the newsletter of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, reported on a number of recent rep group changes:

After a two-month downward trend, retail sales at bookstores bounced back in August. Preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census show bookstore sales in August 2008 increased 5.4 percent compared to August 2007. Sales during August are estimated at $2,436 million, compared to sales of $2,311 million for the same period last year. For the year to date, bookstore sales are up 2.5 percent.

AAP's Book Editors Unscripted Underway The Association of American Publishers' new webcast series Book Editors Online & Unscripted launched on Tuesday, September 16. The series is designed to provide a sneak preview from the "nation's top editorial brass, via webcast, on the book picks of Winter 2009." Remaining webcasts in the current series include:

July was the second straight month that retail sales at bookstores failed to keep pace with 2007. Preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census show bookstore sales in July 2008 decreased by 7.4 percent as compared to July 2007. July 2008 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,124 million, compared to sales of $1,213 million for the same period last year. In July 2007, bookstore sales were boosted by the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Scholastic) on the 21st of the month.

Preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census reflect an increase in bookstore sales in May 2008 of 2.6 percent, compared to May 2007. May 2008 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,154 million, compared to sales of $1,125 million for the same period last year. The Census Bureau also adjusted its preliminary estimates of April 2008 bookstore sales upward to $1,002 million, putting them at 8.2 percent above April 2007.

Preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census reflect an increase in bookstore sales in April 2008 of 8.0 percent, compared to April 2007. April 2008 bookstore sales are estimated at $1,000 million, compared to sales of $926 million for the same period last year. The Census Bureau also adjusted its preliminary estimates of March 2008 figures downward to $1,019 million, meaning that bookstore sales for March 2008 were even with last year's March figures.

A recent poll conducted for Random House by Zogby International provides an intriguing snapshot of the country's reading demographic.

The book industry should expect to face a challenging economy for the remainder of 2008 and for most of 2009, according to the Book Industry Study Group's (BISG) Book Industry TRENDS 2008. BISG announced some key findings of the study (which will be released on June 16) during a session on Friday, May 30, at BookExpo America. Michael Healy, executive director of BISG, hosted the BEA presentation, which featured Al Greco, senior researcher at the Institute for Publishing Research.