According to AAP’s StatShot report, adult book sales fell 2.2% in November compared to a year ago. Sales of mass market paperbacks declined 36.7% and e-book sales dropped 5.1%. Downloadable audio sales, however, jumped 45.2% in the month. In the first 11 months of 2017, sales of adult books were up 2.9% over the comparable period in 2016. The downloadable audio category had the biggest gain, with sales up 28.0%. Among the print segments, hardcover sales were up the most, 11.0%. E-book sales from reporting publishers were down 5.4%. In the children’s/young adult category, November sales were down 8.2% compared to November 2016, with hardcover and e-book sales down 17.3% and 20.0%, respectively. For the first 11 months of 2017, sales in the category declined 3.0% compared to 2016, with only board books posting an increase, with sales up 5.1%. For the 1,212 publishers who report to AAP, sales were down 5.4% in November, but up 1.1% in the first 11 months of the year.
| Categor | Change November | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | -2.7% | 11.0% |
| Adult Paper | 0.8% | 0.2% |
| Mass Market | -36.7% | -11.0% |
| Physical Audio | -18.4% | -6.5% |
| Audio Download | 45.2% | 28.0% |
| Adult E-book | -5.1% | -5.4% |
| Children’s/YA | -8.2% | -3.0% |
| Religious Presses | -0.7% | -1.1% |
| Professional | 14.8% | 10.5% |
| K–12 Materials | 9.4% | -3.1% |
| Higher Ed. | -23.9% | 3.8% |
| University Presses | -0.8% | 4.8% |
