Unit sales of print books fell 4% in the first week of 2014 compared to the week ended Jan. 6, 2013, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. With Walmart now entering its second year of supplying sales to BookScan, it is possible to make annual comparisons for print books sold through the retail & club channel, as well as for the mass merchandise and other channel, where Walmart’s numbers appear. In the first week of 2014, the retail & club channel held up better than the mass merchandise channel, though units were off in both markets. The overall decline was due to softness in the adult categories—most notably adult fiction, where units were down 16% in week one of 2014 compared to the first week of 2013. Juvenile fiction units rose 8% in the week, as Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy sold about 106,000 copies. Beginning in week one of this year, BookScan added sales from the 183 outlets of the Lifeway Christian Stores chain to the retail & club channel.
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel
| Jan. 6, 2013 | Jan. 5, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 11,394 | 10,955 | -4% | -4% |
| Mass Merch./Other | 1,868 | 1,755 | -6 | -6 |
| Retail & Club | 9,526 | 9,199 | -3 | -3 |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Category
| Jan. 6, 2013 | Jan. 5, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Nonfiction | 4,471 | 4,285 | -4% | -4% |
| Adult Fiction | 3,001 | 2,506 | -16 | -16 |
| Juvenile Nonfiction | 544 | 572 | 5 | 5 |
| Juvenile Fiction | 2,110 | 2,282 | 8 | 8 |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Format
| Jan. 6, 2013 | Jan. 5, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 2,631 | 2,762 | 5% | 5% |
| Trade Paperback | 5,811 | 5,439 | -6 | -6 |
| Mass Market Paperback | 1,628 | 1,407 | -14 | -14 |
| Board Books | 244 | 236 | -3 | -3 |
| Audio | 85 | 83 | -2 | -2 |
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.
