Bookstore Sales Flat in March

Bookstore sales were flat in March, at $1.04 billion, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the lack of an increase, March was the best month to date for bookstores; sales in both January and February fell by more than 4%. For the first quarter, bookstore sales were down 3.5%, to $4.03 billion. The entire retail segment reported a 7.4% increase in March and a 6.2% gain in the first quarter.