Sales of adult trade books increased 8.9% in May 2016 over May 2015, and sales in the children’s/young adult category rose 2.7%, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers in its StatShot program. The increase in adult book sales was driven by solid gains in all formats with the exception of e-books, which declined 18.3% in the month. In the children’s/young adult segment, the 2.7% increase was led by a 20.4% increase in hardcover sales and a 12.5% gain in sales of board books, which offset a 20.5% drop in e-book sales and an 11.1% decline in paperback sales. For the first five months of 2016, sales of adult trade books were down 4.2% from the comparable 2015 period, as all segments except downloadable audio and trade paperback had sales declines. E-book sales were off 19.4% in the five-month period, accounting for 24.4% of adult sales, down from 29%. In children’/YA, sales for the five-month period were down 0.9%, as declines in e-books and board books offset gains in hardcover and paperback sales. Sales for all publishing segments were up 1.6% in May but were down 3.3% for the year to date. Sales are based on figures supplied to AAP by 1,120 publishers.
| Category | Change May | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | 15.9% | -6.3% |
| Adult Paper | 17.1% | 8.9% |
| Mass Market | 48.7% | -4.6% |
| Physical Audio | 19.8% | -16.6% |
| Audio Download | 14.7% | 28.2% |
| Adult E-book | -18.3% | -19.4% |
| Children’s/YA | 2.7% | -0.9% |
| Religious Presses | 15.6% | 8.9% |
| Professional | -28.5% | -22.9% |
| K–12 Materials | 7.2% | 0.8% |
| Higher Ed. | -16.7% | -2.6% |
| University Presses | 4.4% | -0.8% |
(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2015)
