After a strong June and July, bookstore sales dropped back in August, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales in August fell 4.0%, to $1.55 billion, down from $1.62 billion in August 2014. With the August drop, bookstore sales were off by $12 million in the January-August period compared to the same period in 2014, coming in at $7.16 billion.
The decline in August could reflect lower sales through college bookstores since August is one of the most important months of the year for the purchase of textbooks and other college materials.
For the entire retail sector, August sales were up 1.3% and sales for the first eight were up 2.1%.
