E-book sales plunged in October, with sales of adult e-books dropping 22.0% in the month, compared to October 2014. Sales of children/ya e-books fell 44.7%, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers through its StatShot program. Through October, e-book sales of adult books were down 6.5% compared to the first 10 months of 2014, and tumbled 44.7% in the children/ya category.
Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and HarperCollins have all reported that e-book sales were soft last year, and the AAP report (which includes data from all three companies) reflects that weakness.
While sales of e-books were dropping in October, sales of adult digital audio jumped 44.3%, and sales of hardcover and trade paperback rose 5.7%. In all, sales of adult books fell only 0.4% in October, and were up 2.6% in the first 10 months of 2015.
In children/ya, October sales were up in all three print formats, and total October sales rose 8.1%. Despite the October gain, sales in the segment were off 5.3% for the year to date.
Total sales for all 1,205 publishers who reported figures to the AAP were down 5.2% in October, and fell 2.8% in the January-October period.
