Sales of adult trade books dropped 2.8% in the first half of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers as part of its StatShot program. Sales in the children’s/YA segment, meanwhile, rose 0.9% in the same period. Within the adult books category, sales of downloadable audio had the fastest growth in the period, up 32.6%. The largest decline in the six-month span came in the e-book format, where sales fell 18.1%. E-books accounted for 24.2% of adult sales in the first half of 2016, down from 28.7% in the same period in 2015. The 0.9% sales increase in the children’s/YA category was driven by the paperback and hardcover formats, where sales were up 7.4% and 6.4%, respectively. E-book sales fell 34.9%, and board book sales declined 15.6%. The StatShot figures are based on reports from 1,210 publishers. For all the reporting companies, sales in the first half of 2016 were down 3.4%.
| Category | Change June | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | 4.2% | -4.5% |
| Adult Paper | 9.8% | 9.0% |
| Mass Market | 6.7% | -2.5% |
| Physical Audio | 1.5% | -12.7% |
| Audio Download | 56.8% | 32.6% |
| Adult E-book | -7.4% | -18.1% |
| Children’s/YA | 10.4% | 0.9% |
| Religious Presses | 16.1% | 10.4% |
| Professional | -24.0% | -23.1% |
| K–12 Materials | -9.2% | -2.1% |
| Higher Ed. | -10.8% | -5.9% |
| University Presses | -6.2% | -1.7% |
(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2015)
