Category Change January
Adult Hard -17.6%
Adult Paper 0.5%
Mass Market -33.3%
Physical Audio -39.1%
Audio Download 30.3%
Adult E-book -22.3%
Children’s/YA -20.4%
Religious Presses 4.2%
Professional -19.8%
K–12 Materials 7.9%
Higher Ed. 2.2%
University Presses -5.3%

(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2015)

Sales in the adult trade category fell 12.9% in the first month of 2016, compared to January 2015, according to the trade houses that report figures to AAP’s StatShot program. Hardcover and e-books—two of the segment’s largest formats—had declines in the month of 17.6% and 22.3%, respectively. With the e-book segment posting another sales drop, the format represented 19.9% of January 2016 adult trade sales, down from 23.6% a year ago. Sales in the category’s largest format, trade paperback, inched up 0.5% in January. The strongest performer in the month was the digital audiobook format, which had a 30.3% jump. Sales in the children’s/young adult segment fell 20.4% in January as three of the four formats in the segment had significant sales declines: board book sales dropped 53.8%, e-book sales fell 45.2%, and hardcover sales declined 30.3%. Paperback was the only category that posted a sales increase in the year, with sales up 17%. Total sales for the 1,205 publishers that reported results to the AAP were down 6.7% in January.