Board Book Sales Drive More February Unit Gains

A 31% leap in the print unit sales of board books in the week ended Feb. 18, 2018, helped drive total unit sales 5% higher than in the similar week in 2017 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Most board books are in the juvenile fiction and nonfiction categories, and the gains in the format boosted both juvenile segments over the week ended Feb. 19, 2017. Juvenile fiction unit sales rose 14%, and sales of the top 100 board books in the category rose 22% over last year. A number of Dr. Seuss board books posted big gains in the week, with Dr. Seuss’s ABC moving up to eighth place on the overall juvenile fiction list, selling more than 14,000 copies. Some other board books that had big gains in the week were Seuss’s Mr. Brown Can You Moo!, which sold more than 11,000 copies, and Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, which sold nearly 10,000 copies. Several board books were also at the top of the juvenile nonfiction category, where units rose 8% over 2017. The Alphabet Book by P.D. Eastman sold more than 5,600 copies in the week, landing it in third place on the category bestseller list. The strong sales of board books were a major factor in driving up unit sales through the mass merchandisers channel by 8% over 2017; it was the best week the sales channel has had this year. Print unit sales increased 4% in adult nonfiction, as Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker had a strong first week, selling more than 15,000 copies and making it #3 on the category bestseller list. Unit sales fell 4% in adult fiction. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and A.J. Finn’s The Woman in the Window remained first and second on the category list.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format (in thousands)