Bookstore sales rose 9.7% in April, to $757 million, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales in April 2015 were $690 million.
With the increase in April, bookstore sales have risen every month this year compared to 2015. And, for the first four months of 2016, bookstore sales increased 6.8%, to $3.84 billion, over the comparable period in 2015.
The gains in bookstore sales have outpaced growth for the entire retail segment, which posted a 2.7% increase in April and a 3.9% gain in the year-to-date over the first four months of 2015.
