Unit sales of print books fell 3% in week four of 2014, compared to the week ended Jan. 27, 2013, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. As has been the pattern in early 2014, the drop was due to declines in the adult categories, which offset gains in the juvenile segments. Sales in adult fiction were down 14% year over year. In 2013, the category benefited from several strong releases: Private Berlin (37,000 copies sold in its first week), Suspect (17,000 copies sold in its first week), as well as Moonlight Masquerade, and Nineteen Minutes (both sold about 15,000 copies in their first weeks). The only new title to crack the adult fiction top 10 in week four of 2014 was Iris Johansen’s Silencing Eve, which sold about 18,000 mass market paperback units at outlets that report to BookScan. Units in the mass merchandiser channel were down 7% in the week ended Jan. 26, 2014, compared to the fourth week of 2013, while sales through the retail & club channel were down 2%.
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel
| Jan. 27, 2013 | Jan. 26, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 10,726 | 10,452 | -3% | -2% |
| Mass Merch./Other | 1,672 | 1,560 | -7 | -6 |
| Retail & Club | 9,054 | 8,892 | -2 | -1 |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Category
| Jan. 27, 2013 | Jan. 26, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Nonfiction | 4,756 | 4,624 | -3% | -0.5% |
| Adult Fiction | 2,611 | 2,241 | -14 | -14 |
| Juvenile Nonfiction | 621 | 671 | 7 | 5 |
| Juvenile Fiction | 2,179 | 2,359 | 8 | 8 |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Format
| Jan. 27, 2013 | Jan. 26, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 2,564 | 2,509 | -2% | 1% |
| Trade Paperback | 6,048 | 5,897 | -2 | -2 |
| Mass Market Paperback | 1,396 | 1,267 | -9 | -9 |
| Board Books | 319 | 342 | 7 | 4 |
| Audio | 81 | 83 | 2 | 1 |
Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.
