The sluggish bookstore sales numbers continued in April. Total sales reported by the U.S. Census Bureau fell 2.9% in the month, compared to April 2017, dropping to $669 million.
With sales off in three of the first four months of 2018 compared to 2017, bookstore sales in the January-April period of 2018 were down 2.7% compared to the same period a year ago. Revenue in the 2018 period was $3.26 billion, down from $3.35 million in the first four months of 2017.
For the entire retail segment, April sales were up 3.6% and year-to-date sales rose 4.9%.
