Unit sales of print books in the week ended Aug. 6, 2017, were down 17% from the similar week in 2016 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The decline was due entirely to the release last year at this time of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which sold about 2.5 million copies in its first week. The Potter book had a negative impact on a number of areas, most notably the juvenile fiction category, where sales plunged 46% compared to the week ended Aug. 7, 2016. Accompanying the blockbuster sales of Cursed Child, eight other Rowling titles combined to sell about 65,000 copies last year at this time. The #1 juvenile fiction seller in the most recent week was Wonder by R.J. Palacio, which sold more than 19,000 copies. The paperback edition of Cursed Child was in the third spot with just over 13,000 copies sold. Cursed Child was released as a hardcover and audio, and sales in both formats took a dive in the week. Hardcover sales fell 26% and audio sales were down 28%. Unit sales of juvenile nonfiction rose 10% over 2016, with school-oriented titles dominating the top of the category’s bestseller list. Unit sales of adult nonfiction increased 4%, led by Ready or Not!, a new cookbook by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong, which sold more than 20,200 copies in its first week. The book just beat out Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, which sold 20,003 copies (both Ready or Not! and Milk and Honey are published by Andrews McMeel). Unit sales in adult fiction fell 6% compared to last year. The book that made the biggest splash was Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks, which sold just under 22,000 copies in its first week, putting it in second place on the category bestseller list.
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel (in thousands)
| Aug. 7, 2016 | Aug. 6, 2017 | Change Week | Change YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 14,684 | 12,207 | -17% | 2% |
| Retail & Club | 12,131 | 10,660 | -12% | 4% |
| Mass Merch./Others | 2,552 | 1,547 | -39% | -9% |
Unit Sales of Print Books by category (in thousands)
| Aug. 7, 2016 | Aug. 6, 2017 | Change Week | Change YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Nonfiction | 4,768 | 4,968 | 4% | 3% |
| Adult Fiction | 3,033 | 2,852 | -6% | 0% |
| Juvenile Nonfiction | 971 | 1,068 | 10% | 6% |
| Juvenile Fiction | 5,496 | 2,969 | -46% | 2% |
Unit Sales of Print Books by format (in thousands)
| Aug. 7, 2016 | Aug. 6, 2017 | Change Week | Change YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 5,353 | 2,917 | -26% | 4% |
| Trade Paperback | 7,210 | 7,243 | 0.5% | 2% |
| Mass Market Paperback | 1,300 | 1,169 | -10% | -8% |
| Board Books | 481 | 549 | 14% | 11% |
| Audio | 79 | 57 | -28% | -9% |
Source: npd BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Npd’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.
