Unit sales of print books slipped 1% in the week ended November 20, 2016 over the comparable week in 2015 at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The decline in the week, the first full week after the presidential election, marks the third consecutive weeks in which unit sales dropped compared to similar weeks in 2015. Many in publishing and bookselling are hopeful that with election over, consumers will return to bookstores to give a boost to sales.
Despite the sales dip, two new books by authors who were highly visible during the election year—Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, got off to a good start.
Kelly’s book, Settle for More, sold almost 64,000 print copies in its first week on sale, putting it in first place on the adult nonfiction bestsellers list. Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders sold about 45,000 copies in its first week, landing it in the third spot on the adult nonfiction list.
Editor's Note: This story has been corrected. Due to a misreading of the data, the original story said sales had risen 1%.
