The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending December 14, 2014

Unit sales of print books increased 4% in the week ended Dec. 14, 2014, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. As it has for much of the year, the juvenile nonfiction category had the best performance in the week, with units rising 19% over the week ended Dec. 15, 2013. The gain came despite large declines in sales of the two Elf of the Shelf titles (although the books ran 2-3 on the juvenile nonfiction bestseller list). The top title in the segment was Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids, which sold more than 57,000 copies in the week. Sales in the juvenile fiction segment rose 6% over week 50 of 2013, led, once again, by Jeff Kinney’s The Long Haul. The latest Wimpy Kid title sold over 162,000 copies—120,000 more copies than Frozen by Victoria Saxon, which placed second. Adult nonfiction sales rose 3% in the week, as Killing Patton remained at the top, with more than 109,000 copies sold. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand had a significant sales increase in the week, as ads for the movie based on the book proliferated; the original trade paperback edition of Unbroken sold almost 78,000 copies, while the movie tie-in edition sold over 52,000 copies. Adult fiction sales dropped 3% compared to week 50 of 2013, as Gray Mountain took over the top spot from Hope to Die, with the John Grisham novel outselling the James Patterson title by a 53,909 to 46,372 count at BookScan outlets.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.