Boosted by a 10.7% increase in March, bookstore sales for the first quarter of 2016 were up 6.2% over the comparable period in 2015, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales in March were $766 million up from $692 million in March 2015.
For the first quarter, total bookstore sales were $3.08 billion compared to $2.90 billion in the first three months of 2015. Bookstore sales rose in all three months in 2016 compared to the same month last year.
Bookstore sales also rose faster than spending in the retail sector overall. Total retail sales were up 3.6% for both March and the first quarter.
