Sales in the adult trade segment were up 3.1% in the first six months of 2015 over 2014, while sales of children’s/young adult books fell 12.3% in the same period, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers‘ StatShot program. The increase in adult books was led by a strong performance of trade paperbacks, which offset declines in hardcover, mass market paperback, and e-books. The audiobook segment had a good first six months with downloadable audio sales up 34.6% and physical sales rising 5.4%. The decline in the children’s/young adult category was due to steep drops in e-book sales (45.5%) and hardcover (20.5%). Sales of board books increased 18.3%. Sales figures are based on reports from a total of 1,207 publishers. Sales for all categories—including religion, education and professional—fell 4.1% in the six month period compared to last year.
| Category | Change June | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | -16.6% | -6.2% |
| Adult Paper | 28.8% | 15.1% |
| Mass Market | -13.4% | -5.6% |
| Physical Audio | -1.7% | 5.4% |
| Audio Download | 4.3% | 34.6% |
| Adult E-book | -3.3% | -3.1% |
| Children’s/YA | -2.6% | -12.3% |
| Religious Presses | 12.2% | -5.1% |
| Professional | 28.1% | 16.6% |
| K–12 Materials | -17.2% | -10.8% |
| Higher Ed. | 15.7% | -9.1% |
| University Presses | 7.2% | -2.3% |
(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2014)
