After a sluggish beginning to 2017, a three-month rally has made bookstore sales through the first five months of 2017 almost even with the comparable period in 2016.
For the third month in a row, bookstore sales rose in May, increasing 1.7%, over May 2016. Sales reached $787 million, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
With the May gain, total bookstore sales in 2017 were down by $1 million, compared to the January-May 2016 period. Sales for the first five months of 2017 were $4.34 billion.
For the entire retail sector, May sales increased 5.3% over last year, while sales for the year-to-date were up 4.0% over the first five months of 2016.
