The AAP released monthly sales statistics for both April and May, confirming a trend of flat overall trade sales propped up by a few children’s/YA market hits. Total trade sales for $491 million in April (up $4 million from a year ago) and $525 million in May (up $2 million). In March sales were down $1 million, after a strong January and February.
Of slight additional concern is that sales were flat even with the influx of millions of dollars in use-it-or-lose-it credits from the publisher ebook legal settlements. Those credits landed in customer accounts at the end of March, and Barnes & Noble had reported their customers activated almost half of the allocated credits by early May.
But those credits apparently could not overcome the lack of adult hits. Total adult sales of $363 million in April were down $20 million from a year ago, and May adult sales of $371 were down further, by $37 million. (Adult sales had been down by $24 million in March.) The gaps were almost entirely due to weaker hardcover sales, off $28 million in April and $27 million in May.
Children’s/young adult sales, driven all year by John Green and Veronica Roth, remained robust (and helped by Frozen tie-ins and Gayle Forman, among others), at $128 million in April (up $24 million) and a big $154 million in May (up $39 million).
eBook sales rose in April — when the settlement credits landed — at $138.5 million up $16 million from last year — and were more modest in May, up $3 million to $120 million.
For a comprehensive overview of 2014 statistics date, along with more background on AAP statistics historically, check out our cool “master page” for AAP data.
| Month | Adult Sales | Change vs. 2013 | Children's/YA Sales | Change vs. 2013 | eBook Sales | Change vs. 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | $362 million | +$10 million | $144 million | +$44 million | $137 million | +$15.5 million |
| February | $325 million | +$6 million | $137 million | +$35 million | $139 million | +$5.5 million |
| March | $316.5 million | -$23.5 million | $133 million | +$22 million | $108.5 million | -$7.5 million |
| April | $363 million | -$20 million | $128 million | +$24 million | $138.5 million | +$19.5 million |
| May | $371 million | -$37 million | $154 million | +$39 million | $120 million | +$3 million |
| June | $367.5 million | -$3 million | $129 million | +$18.5 million | $129 million | +$11 million |
| July | $367 million | +$13 million | $133 million | +$15 million | $127 million | +$6.5 million |
| August | $415 million | +$8 million | $179 million | +$29 million | $124.5 million | +$2.5 million |
| September | $435 million | -$58.5 million | $183 million | +$15 million | $123 million | +$4 million |
| October | $537.1 million | +$52.5 million | $220.4 million | +$31.2 million | $120 million | -$1 million |
| November | $441.9 million | -$37.3 million | $190.6 million | +$23.6 million | $116 million | -$5.6 million |
| December | $432.1 million | +$35.5 million | $159 million | +$29.1 million | $133.5 million | +$13.8 million |
| Full Year | $4.744 billion | -$67.7 million | $1.887 billion | +$325 million | $1.519 billion | +$70 million |
| January 2015 | $393 million | +$26.7 million | $140.3 million | -$1.6 million | $129.4 million | -$10.9 million |
| February 2015 | $305 million | -$24 million | $87 million | -$40 million | $117 million | -$21 million |
| March 2015 | $356 million | $38.3 million | $101 million | -$23.8 million | $110 million | -$1.1 million |
| April 2015 | $488 million | -$6.5 million | $120 million | -$20.6 million | $120 million | -$20.6 million |