As anticipated, the inclusion of an extra pre-holiday shopping day helped to lift the final week of holiday sales above the same closing week from last year. Notably, it’s the first and only week in the holiday sales stretch in which 2022 sales outpaced the same week from 2021. (Indeed, the last time a 2022 sale week was ahead of the comparable week from a year ago was in late August.) According to NPD Bookscan, week 51 sales for the period ending December 24 saw print sales of 29.8 million units, versus 27.1 million units a year ago and 23.3 […]
Statistics
AAP Sales Fell 14.3 Percent In October
The AAP reported sales for October, which is usually the biggest month for reporting publishers as they ship big fall releases and fill store inventory in preparation for holiday sales. Overall trade sales were 14.3 percent lower than the record showing a year ago, falling $151 million, but still the second-strongest October showing. Adult sales of $598 million were down 16.4 percent from $716 million a year ago, on lower sales across all print formats. Consumer sales held up fine, with adult digital audio up over $9 million to $61 million, getting ever closer to ebook sales at $70 million, […]
Hoover’s Print Sales Have Topped 7 Million Units in 2022
NPD Bookscan noted in a release that Colleen Hoover has sold 7.3 million print books so far this year, through August 27. Right now she occupies four of the top six spots on Bookscan’s most recent bestseller list, and nine of the top 20 spots — with titles from three different publishers. Year to date, she holds five of the top eight bestselling print books as well. Her new book, IT STARTS WITH US, publishes October 18 and “is expected to smash presale records,” Bookscan adds. The majority of Hoover’s books are categorized as romance, and a separate release from […]
Media Coverage Drives Sales for Challenged and Banned Books
NPD BookScan looked at sales data for books that have been removed from shelves or publicly challenged, finding that media attention converts into sales spikes — though the absolute numbers range widely. “When a book finds itself at the top of a national news story because it has received a challenge, sales go up,” said Kristen McLean, books industry analyst for NPD. “But that doesn’t translate into an overall sales boost for other banned books. It’s the immediacy of the story, and viewers’ reaction to it, that drives increased sales. It is also likely that many consumers don’t know what […]
Forbes List of America’s Best Midsize Employers Includes PRH, Scholastic, S&S, and More
Forbes released its list of the 500 Best Midsize Employers, including several publishers. Penguin Random House ranked #4; Scholastic ranked #41; McGraw Hill ranked #277; Simon & Schuster ranked #342, making the list for the first time; and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ranked #420. Forbes and market research company Statista compiled the list by “surveying 60,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees.” Respondents were asked “to rate, on a scale of zero to ten, how likely they’d be to recommend their employer.” Additionally, they rated factors like working conditions, development opportunities, compensation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
More Indications of A Strong Year, with Big Gains for Print Fiction
Further to Monday’s report on data from the AAP and NPD Bookscan suggesting the year’s strong book sales are likely to hold up through the end of the year, NPD Bookscan analyst Kristen McLean wrote in her November sales analysis, “The US Book market is pretty much locked in for a strong end of year.” While backlist has continued to drive sales all year, as it did in 2020, comprising over two-thirds of all unit sales, McLean noted, “Supply-chain issues did not affect November frontlist share. In fact, frontlist share gained one year-to-date share point, up from 31% last month.” […]