Bookstores, Clubs Gain Market Share in '01

Traditional book channels took back some market share from alternative outlets in 2001, according to the latest book-buying survey conducted by Ipsos-NPD. Bookstores' share of all units purchased rose to 33.1% in 2001 from 32.8% in 2000, while market share of book clubs/mail order/book fairs increased to 24.9% from 23.8%.

Channels that lost market share last year include mass merchandisers, whose share fell to 8.3% from 9.0%, and discount/variety stores, whose market share fell to 6.0% from 7.8%. The decline in the mass merchandiser and discount/variety stores is primarily due to the number of stores in those channels that have gone out of business.

According to Ipsos, total unit sales rose 2% in 2001, to 1.62 billion, and the company estimated that consumers spent $12.8 billion on print books, compared to $12.6 billion in 2000. Approximately two-thirds of all books purchased were for adults 18 years old and over.

In unit sales of adult books alone, trends were similar to the findings for all sales, which include children's books. As had been expected, independent and small chain stores managed to end their decline of market share in 2001, capturing 14.8% of adult unit sales last year, flat with 2000; spending at independents rose to 15.8% from 15.2%. Unit sales of adult books through the chains slipped to 23.4% from 23.7%, due mainly to the closing of Crown Books and soft sales through mall stores.

Online bookstores accounted for 7.5% of adult sales last year, compared to 7.1% in 2000. For all sales, online booksellers represented 5.8% of unit purchases in 2001, reflecting the weaker demand for children's books via the Internet compared to that for adult books. The minor increase in online bookstores' unit share mirrors the slow growth reported by Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

Unit Sales of All Books by Outlet, 2000—2001

Unit Sales of Adult Books by Outlet, 2000-2001