The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending September 21, 2014

Unit sales of print books rose 4% in the week ended Sept. 21, 2014, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The increase follows a 7% gain in the prior week, and units were up 1% for the year to date. The retail & club channel led the way with a 6% increase in sales, which offset a 4% drop in the mass merchandiser channel. The juvenile nonfiction segment had the strongest week, with units up 23%, despite the fact that the five top-selling books were the same as the previous week. Juvenile fiction sales rose 14% in week 38, benefitting from a new book in the top five, as The Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans sold just under 21,000 copies in its first week. The adult nonfiction category had a 1% sales gain, as Zero to One by Peter Thiel sold about 15,600 copies in its debut week, landing in fourth place on the adult nonfiction chart, while David Limbaugh’s Jesus on Trial had a solid sales increase in the week, selling over 17,000 copies and ranking third on the adult nonfiction list. The top-selling book in the week was Ken Follett’s novel, Edge of Eternity, which sold almost 88,000 copies at outlets that report to BookScan.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.