Bookstore Sales Down in June  

-- Publishers Weekly, 8/18/2008 8:10:00 AM

Bookstore sales, which had been surprisingly strong through the first five months of 2008, tumbled in June, falling 7.1% in the month, to $1.07 billion. The monthly decline, the first this year, dropped the sales increase for bookstores in the first half of 2008 to 3.1%. Sales for the first six months were $7.67 billion. For the entire retail segment sales rose 1.3% in June and were up 3.1% for the first half of 2008.