Print Unit Sales Stop Three-Week Slide in Early June

Unit sales of print books broke a three-week losing streak in the week ended June 10, 2018, rising 3% over the week ended June 11, 2017, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The gain was led by a 10% sales increase in the juvenile nonfiction category, where five Summer Bridge Activities titles took the first five places on the category bestseller list. Sales of the five books totaled about 40,000 copies. Unit sales in the adult nonfiction segment rose 4%, led by a new release: Trump’s America by Newt Gingrich, which sold more than 30,000 copies in its first week, landing it in the #1 spot on the category list. Two backlist titles, You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Mason, had good weeks, moving into fourth and fifth spots on the category list and selling more than 13,000 and 12,000 copies, respectively. Print unit sales rose 5% in the juvenile fiction category, despite little movement among the top sellers. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss remained #1 on the category list, selling nearly 29,000 copies. Print unit sales slipped by less than 1% in the adult fiction segment compared to 2017, despite the fact that the category had the top-selling book of the week. The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson sold more than 147,000 copies in its first week, easily topping The Outsider by Stephen King, which sold more than 40,000 copies and was at #2. The trade paperback edition of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine landed in sixth place on the category list, selling more than 14,000 copies in its first week.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format (in thousands)