In its annual report on the state of Christian retail, the Parable Group found that same-store sales at participating outlets rose 2.3% in 2025 over 2024. The increase followed a 1% sales decline in 2024.
The report, which is based on data from 165 bricks-and-mortar Christian retailers with $72 million in revenue, found that 47% of stores had a sales increase last year over 2024. Meanwhile, 25% of stores reported flat sales, while sales declined at 28% of responding stores. Retailers reported that sales were up and down throughout the year, with the biggest gains coming in the early fall.
Bibles remained the strongest category for Christian retailers, with sales up 5.4%. Sixty-one percent of reporting stores said Bible sales rose in 2025, while only 22% reported that Bible sales had declined. With their generally higher price points, Bibles accounted for 28% of stores’ dollar sales, but only 10% of units sold.
According to the report, in 2025, customers continued to favor modern-language translations with the New Living Translation Bibles claiming almost 23% of unit sales, while unit sales of the New International Version softened and represented about 19.5% of sales. Sales of the King James Version held steady, accounting for about 18% of unit sales, while sales of the English Standard Version rose, taking just over 15% of Bible sales.
Gifts tied Bibles as stores’ biggest revenue generator in 2025 at 28%; gifts also accounted for 33% of all units sold. While gifts and Bibles gained market share in terms of units sold, the adult books and cards categories had small declines.
Despite the dip, adult books still commanded 24% of revenue at reporting stores and 23% of units. Christian living remained the largest book category with a 23.4% share of unit sales, as sales steadied in 2025 after two years of declines. Devotionals continued to steadily gain in popularity, posting four years of increases and accounted for 17.5% of unit sales in 2025. Unit sales of fiction had a slight uptick, and accounted for 10.3% of unit sales at reporting stores.
Colleen Coble was the bestselling fiction author at reporting stores last year and Sarah Young was number one in nonfiction. The study found that bestsellers at Christian retailers differ noticeably from all retailers who report to Circana BookScan. The biggest takeaway from the comparison is that Christian retailers are much better at helping readers discover new books.
According to the report, 15 of the top 20 bestsellers in 2025 on the Christian bestseller list were released in 2025, compared to only three titles that made the top 20 religion bestsellers on BookScan.
“Christian retail is a powerful discovery engine for faith-based content—its Top 20 leans notably new compared to Circana’s list,” commented Randy Ross, director of Christian retail marketing at Parable. “That’s a strong signal that the channel surfaces fresh titles early, often influencing broader market demand a few years later.”
Another point of consensus among responding retailers was that managing inventory and logistics remained challenging in 2025. By and large, though, retailers remained optimistic about prospects for 2026.
“In a noisy world, Christian retailers serve as vital outposts of hope and a steady presence for their communities,” said Greg Squires, CEO of the Parable Group. “This year’s growth confirms the hunger for more than just products; people are seeking truth, Bibles, and connection."
