A March Rebound
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 5/9/2005
% Change
% Change
Category
March
YTD
Adult Hardcover
-0.8%
-1.4%
Adult Paperback
23.0
5.4
Adult Mass Market
27.0
3.3
Juvenile Hardcover
26.6
44.5
Juvenile Paperback
17.4
2.9
Audio Books
17.6
8.0
Electronic Books
12.6
29.5
Religious. Books
-11.7
-4.2
Higher Education
-8.1
-6.2
Univ. Pr. Hardcover
-19.0
-13.7
Univ. Pr. Paperback
49.7
15.5
Professional
-4.3
-2.0
Elhi
13.7
14.2
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2004)
After a poor February, sales rebounded in March in most publishing segments tracked by the AAP in its monthly sales report. With the exception of the adult hardcover category, where sales fell 0.8%, all trade segments posted solid double-digit gains in the month. Sales in the elhi segment rose 13.7% in March, led by an 18% increase in basal sales. The college segment had another poor month with sales off 8.1%. Among the notable trends for the first quarter was the 4.2% decline in the religious book segment; which has been one of publishing's strongest segments in the past two years.
