The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending November 6, 2016

Unit sales of print books dropped 10% in the week ended Nov. 6, 2016, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Unit sales declined in all four major categories, and sales of the 100 bestselling books overall in the week were down sharply compared to the week ended Nov. 8, 2015, falling 28%. The adult nonfiction segment had the steepest decline, with unit sales off 10%. Unit sales of the 100 bestselling books in the category dropped 29%. The #1 book in adult nonfiction last year was Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman Cooks, which sold almost 43,000 copies, not too much better than the 37,000 copies sold by the top-selling nonfiction title this year, The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines. Unit sales of adult fiction and juvenile fiction both fell 9% in the week. Unit sales of the 100 bestselling adult fiction books were 12% below the top 100 in 2015. In juvenile fiction, sales of the top 100 titles fell 19%. Jeff Kinney had the #1 book in both years, but his Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down sold 236,000 units in its first week this year, down from the 314,000 units Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School sold last year in its debut week. Juvenile nonfiction unit sales dropped 8% in the week. Once again, there was softness among the bestselling 100 books in the category, where units dropped 24%. There was a new #1 title in the segment: Dan and Phil Go Outside, by YouTube stars Dan Howell and Phil Lester, sold almost 18,000 copies in its first week.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

*Totals for 2016 include units sold through Family Christian Stores. No sales through Family Christian are included in 2015.