Sales of adult trade books rose 7.3% in January 2015, compared to January 2014, according to AAP’s StatShot program. Meanwhile, sales of children’s/young adult books slipped 1.1%. Sales in the education segments posted double-digit declines in the month, leading to a 5.6% drop in total sales for the 1,210 publishers that report their figures to the AAP. Within adult trade, hardcover and trade paperback sales increased 15.5% and 18.5%, respectively. Sales in the mass market paperback segment fell 11.6%, while e-book sales dipped 2.1%. Audio had a mixed January with sales of physical audio down 5.8% and downloadable audio sales ahead 25.2%. E-books accounted for 28.9% of sales of adult books in January compared to 31.7% in January 2014. In the children’s/young adult segment, the small decline was due to a 35.0% decrease in e-book sales, which offset gains in the print segments. E-book sales represented 11.2% of children’s/young adult revenue in January, down from 17% in January 2014.
| Category | % Change January |
|---|---|
| Adult Hard | 15.5% |
| Adult Paper | 18.5% |
| Mass Market | -11.6% |
| Physical Audio | -5.8% |
| Audio Download | 25.2% |
| Adult E-book | -2.1% |
| Children’s/YA | -1.1% |
| Religious Presses | 11.1% |
| Professional | 10.0% |
| K-12 Materials | -20.7% |
| Higher Ed. | -18.0% |
| University Presses | -12.2% |
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2014)
