April adult book sales fell 4.0% compared to last April, while sales in the children’s/young adult segment dropped 33.1%, according to figures released in AAP’s StatShot program. The declines reflect the beginning of sales of Fifty Shades last year in the adult segment and the ongoing sales of Hunger Games in children’s/young adult last year. In adult, April e-book sales rose 7.1% at publishers that report to StatShot, but trade paperback sales fell 17.4%. Hardcover sales were up 2.3% in the month. In children’s e-book sales were down 64.8% and hardcover sales fell 46.4%
Outside of the two big trade areas, April sales were up in all other segments.
Sales in the adult publishing segment were up 1.3% in the first four months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012 as sales of e-books and digital audio offset declines in paperback sales. In the January-April period, adult e-book sales were up 12.4% to $436 million at StatShot publishers, while digital audio sales rose 14.6%. E-books were the biggest sellers in April, topping second place trade paperbacks where sales fell 3.9% in the period to $415 million. In children’s/ya, sales were down 26.8% with e-book sales down 43.7% and hardcover sales off 37.2% in the January-April period.
Figures are based on responses from 1,193 publishers.
