The two major trade segments posted solid gains in August, over the same period in 2017, according to figures released by the AAP as part of its StatShot program.
Sales of adult books rose 5.2% in the month, while hardcover and trade paperback sales increased 5.6% and 10.5%, respectively. The big sales driver was downloadable audio, though, where sales jumped 45.1%.
With August revenue of $36.2 million, downloadable audio sales topped that of mass market paperback, where sales fell 24.5%, to $28.6 million. E-book sales posted a small gain in the month, 0.4%, but sales of the format were off 4.1% for the first eight months of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.
In children’s/young adult, August sales increased 7.5%, led by a 12.9% increase in paperback sales. Sales of board books fell 0.2% in the month.
For the first eight months of 2018, sales of adult trade book rose 5.2% over the comparable period in 2017. Sales in the children’s/ya segment increased 2.6%.
For all 1,080 publishers that report to AAP, sales were up 1.2% in August but slipped 0.6% in the year-to-date.
