March was a tough month for both the industry overall as well as the adult trade segment, according to AAP's Monthly StatShot. In adult trade, sales fell in all the print segments, with the steepest decline coming in mass market paperback, where sales were off 27.8% at the houses that report sales. E-book sales rose 33.2% in March, to $86.2 million, at reporting companies. The children's/young adult segment was a bright spot in March, with sales up 46.6%, driven by a 173.9% increase in e-book sales (to a still relatively small $19.3 million) and a 59.3% gain in hardcover sales at the houses that report sales to the AAP. For the first quarter of 2012, adult e-book sales were up 28.1%, to $282.3 million, at reporting houses. Hardcover sales rose in the quarter, but sales were off in trade paperback and mass market paperback. AAP's Monthly StatShot tabulated results from 1,189 publishers in March.
| CATEGORY | % CHANGE | March | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | -15.3% | 2.7 | |
| Adult Paper | -27.0 | -10.5 | |
| Mass Market | -27.8 | -20.8 | |
| Physical Audio | -7.6 | 3.4 | |
| Audio Download | 49.5 | 32.7 | |
| Adult E-book | 33.2 | 28.1 | |
| Childrens/YA | 46.6 | 63.6 | |
| Religious Presses | -20.9 | -1.8 | |
| Professional | -9.5 | -2.6 | |
| K-12 Materials | -9.6 | -13.4 | |
| Higher Ed. | -34.0 | -0.3 | |
| University Presses | -14.7 | 3.6 |
