Unit sales of print books rose 5% in the week ended Oct. 12, 2014, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Two categories in particular had noteworthy performances: in the juvenile nonfiction segment, unit sales jumped 42% over week 41 of 2013; and in adult fiction, where year-over-year sales have been down for most of 2014, units were up 6%. The gains in juvenile nonfiction occurred even though sales of Minecraft books cooled a bit. Still, Minecraft: Construction Handbook sold about 40,000 copies in the week, more than 10 times the sales of the top-selling juvenile nonfiction title in the week ended Oct. 13, 2013. Combined sales of the 100 bestselling juvenile nonfiction titles in week 41 of 2014 soared 84% over those of the 100 top sellers in the similar week last year. In adult fiction, three editions of Gone Girl held the top three spots, selling a total of about 162,000 copies in the week ended Oct. 12, 2014—a 57% increase over the three top-selling fiction titles in week 41 of 2013. Growth in the juvenile fiction segment slowed, though it had the overall bestselling title in the week: Rick Riordan’s The Blood of Olympus sold over 162,000 copies in its debut week.
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel
Oct. 13, 2013 | Oct. 12, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 10,746 | 11,318 | 5% | 2% |
Mass Merch./Other | 2,047 | 2,086 | 2 | -3 |
Retail & Club | 8,699 | 9,232 | 6 | 3 |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Category
Oct. 13, 2013 | Oct. 12, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Nonfiction | 4,044 | 4,120 | 2% | 0% |
Adult Fiction | 2,460 | 2,600 | 6 | -10 |
Juvenile Nonfiction | 640 | 910 | 42 | 13 |
Juvenile Fiction | 3,055 | 3,170 | 4 | 1 |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Format
Oct. 13, 2013 | Oct. 12, 2014 | % Chge Week | % Chge YTD | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hardcover | 3,193 | 3,144 | -1% | 2% |
Trade Paperback | 5,390 | 5,926 | 10 | 3 |
Mass Market Paperback | 1,325 | 1,343 | 1 | -11 |
Board Books | 448 | 529 | 18 | 18 |
Audio | 95 | 85 | -10 | 0.2 |
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.