The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending December 7, 2014

Unit sales of print books rose 5% in the week ended Dec. 7, 2014, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The increase marked the second consecutive week that units rose by 5%. With the holiday shopping season in full swing, Jeff Kinney’s The Long Haul was the #1 book, selling more than 152,000 copies. That helped drive up unit sales in the juvenile fiction segment by 11% in week 49, compared to the week ended Dec. 8, 2013. Two editions of Elf on the Shelf were one-two on the juvenile nonfiction list, combining to sell approximately 160,000 copies at outlets that report to BookScan. Total units rose 17% in the juvenile nonfiction category, year over year. The titles at the top of the adult nonfiction list posted good gains in week 49 compared to week 48, with sales of Humans of New York jumping 861% to more than 48,000 copies in the week, putting it at #3 on the adult nonfiction list. Total sales in the segment rose 4% over week 49 last year. The biggest seller in adult fiction, where units dropped 3%, was James Patterson’s Hope to Die, the latest in his Alex Cross series, which sold just under 56,000 copies.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

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.