Sales of adult books fell 10.3% in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the first period of 2015. Sales of children's/YA titles dipped 2.1%, according to figures released by the AAP's StatShot program.
The figures also showed that the decline in e-book sales is continuing into 2016. Sales of adult titles in the format dropped 19.0% in the quarter, while sales of children's/YA titles in the format fell 40.5%.
E-books accounted for 27.1% of adult book sales in the quarter, down from 29.9% during the same period last year. E-books' share of children's/YA sales fell from 12.5% in the first quarter of 2015, to 7.5% this quarter.
In the adult book category sales fell in all but two formats: downloadable audio and trade paperback. Sales of downloadable audio rose 36.4% in the quarter, while sales of trade paperbacks rose 1.5%.
The biggest sales declines came in physical audio (down 33.3%) and mass market paperback (off 25.5%).
In the children's/YA category paperback sales were up 19.7% in the quarter. Sales were down, though, for board books (26.0%) and hardcovers (2.7%).
Looking at the other major publishing categories in quarter, sales of higher educational materials increased 20.3%, while sales of K-12 materials rose 8.6%. Sales of religious titles rose 5.8%, but sales of professional books fell 24.4%.
The StatShot figures are based on reporting from 1,219 publishers throughout the industry.
