Sales of adult e-books dropped 22% in October compared to October 2014, and sales of children’s/YA e-books fell 44.7%, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers through its StatShot program. Through October, e-book sales of adult books were down 6.5% compared to the first 10 months of 2014 and tumbled 44.7% in the children’s/YA category. While sales of e-books fell in October, sales of adult digital audio jumped 43.3% and sales of hardcover and trade paperback rose 4.3% and 5.7%, respectively. In all, sales of adult books fell only 0.4% in October and were up 2.6% in the first 10 months of 2015. In children’s/YA, October sales were up in all three print formats and total sales rose 8.1%. Despite the October gain, sales in the segment were off 5.3% in the year to date. Sales for all 1,205 publishers who reported figures to the AAP were down 5.2% in October and fell 2.8% in the January-October period.
| Category | Change October | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | 4.3% | -1.2% |
| Adult Paper | 5.7% | 14.9% |
| Mass Market | -17.8% | -13.1% |
| Physical Audio | -10.1% | -0.7% |
| Audio Download | 43.3% | 41.7% |
| Adult E-book | -22.0% | -6.5% |
| Children’s/YA | 8.1% | -5.3% |
| Religious Presses | 11.0% | 0.0% |
| Professional | -9.7% | -2.1% |
| K–12 Materials | 3.0% | -4.7% |
| Higher Ed. | -666.1% | -6.7% |
| University Presses | -13.3% | -2.9% |
(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2014)
