Bookstore sales fell 4.1% in February, to just over $1 billion, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. As bookstore sales dropped, total retail sales rose 10.5% in the month. It was a year ago February that Borders filed for Chapter 11, something that began a period of declining sales at the chain until its going-out-of business sales began later in the year.
For the first two months of 2012, bookstore sales were down 1.9%, to $3.06 billion, while total retail sales rose 8.0%.
