The sales momentum that print books enjoyed at the end of 2014 carried into the first week of the new year. Unit sales of print titles rose 4% in the week ended Jan. 4, 2015, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The gain was led by a 5% increase in sales through the retail & club channel, which offset a 2% decline in sales via the mass merchandiser channel. Unit sales were up in all four of the major categories, with juvenile nonfiction posting the biggest gain. Two holiday favorites, Elf on the Shelf and Mindcraft: Construction Handbook, continued to top the juvenile nonfiction list, joined by the newcomer, First 100 Words, a $5.99 board book. Units in adult nonfiction rose 3% over week 2 of 2014, driven by two editions of Unbroken, which not only took the two top spots in the adult nonfiction segment in the week but were also the two bestselling books overall. The two editions combined to sell over 75,000 copies. Unit sales in adult fiction rose 2% over the week ended Jan. 5, 2014, helped by two new mass market paperbacks. Dogwood Hill sold over 21,000 copies in its first week on sale, and Eyes Only sold over 19,000, putting them behind only All the Light We Cannot See—which sold about 23,000 copies—on the adult fiction list.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Jan. 5, 2014 Jan. 4, 2015 % Chge Week % Chge YTD
Total 10,955 11,354 4% 4%
Mass Merch./Other 1,755 1,715 -2 -2
Retail & Club 9,199 9,639 5 5

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Jan. 5, 2014 Jan. 4, 2015 % Chge Week % Chge YTD
Adult Nonfiction 4,285 4,401 3% 3%
Adult Fiction 2,500 2,545 2 2
Juvenile Nonfiction 572 706 23 23
Juvenile Fiction 2,281 2,469 8 8

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

Jan. 5, 2014 Jan. 4, 2015 % Chge Week % Chge YTD
Hardcover 2,726 2,785 2% 2%
Trade Paperback 5,439 5,965 10 10
Mass Market Paperback 1,407 1,236 -12 -12
Board Books 236 303 28 28
Audio 83 75 -10 -10

Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.