Bookstore sales ended four months of increases in June, falling for the first time since January, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales fell 1.9% in the month, to $1.02 billion. For the first half of 2011 bookstore sales were virtually flat with the comparable period in 2010,up one-tenth of a percentage point to $7.05 billion. Sales are from stores that derive at least half of their revenue from books.
For the entire retail segment, June sales rose 8.8% and sales for the first six months of the year were up 8.1%.
