Bookstore sales slipped again in June, falling 0.8%, to $1.10 billion, according to preliminary estimates released this morning by the U.S. Census Bureau. After posting modest gains in the first quarter, bookstore sales were sluggish in the second period and for the first half of 2010, sales were down 0.5% compared to the first half of 2009, to $7.42 billion. Compared to the first half of 2008, just before the recession kicked into high gear, bookstore sales in the first six months of 2010 were down 3.6%.
For the entire retail market, sales rose 5.4% in June and were up 6.6% for the first half of 2010.
