Sales of adult trade books fell 13.1% in October 2016 compared to the same month in 2015, while sales in the children’s/young adult segment rose 1.9%, according to figures released by the AAP as part of its StatShot program. The decline in adult trade was led by a 24.1% drop in hardcover sales, and there was also a 21% decline in mass market paperback. Sales of digital audiobooks rose 7.6% in the month, and e-book sales were up 2.6%. For the first 10 months of 2016, sales in the adult trade category were down 3.2% compared to the same period a year ago. The 1.9% increase in the children’s/young adult category was led by a 14.4% gain in board book sales plus a 4.2% rise in paperback. Hardcover sales fell 1.8% compared to a year earlier, and e-book sales were off 17.7%. Total sales of the 1,207 publishers that report to the AAP fell 9.3% in October and were down 6.4% in the year-to-date.
| Category | Change Oct | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | -24.1% | -7.0% |
| Adult Paper | 0.1% | 7.4% |
| Mass Market | -21.0% | 0.5% |
| Physical Audio | -31.9% | -13.9% |
| Audio Download | 7.6% | 26.9% |
| Adult E-book | 2.6% | -15.4% |
| Children’s/YA | 1.9% | 4.4% |
| Religious Presses | 12.0% | 7.0% |
| Professional | -21.7% | -21.5% |
| K–12 Materials | -24.0% | -8.6% |
| Higher Ed. | 25.1% | -11.4% |
| University Presses | 3.5% | -3.8% |
(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2015)
