Sales in the adult trade segment rose 11.0% in August, according to the newest figures released in AAP’s monthly StatShot program. The biggest surprise in the month was an increase in sales of mass market paperbacks; helped by a 31.6% decline in returns, sales in the format rose 17.2% in August, although sales for the first eight months of 2012 were down 16.3%. E-book sales rose 34.2% in August, to $118.6 million, close to the 36.9% growth rate for the first eight months of the year. For the first eight months of 2012, sales for the entire adult trade segment were up 10.4%.
Sales in the children’s/young adult segment rose 8.6% in August and were up 29.4% in the year-to-date. August sales for the religious presses category fell 3.6% in the month and were down 7.9% for the January-August period. The educational segments had a bad month, particularly the K-12 instructional materials category where sales were down 14.7% in the year-to-date. Sales of higher ed course materials dropped 5.8% in the important August month and were down 2.7% for the year-to-date.
Figures for StatShot come from 1,186 publishers.
