Print book sales dropped 16.2% on March 6 compared to year ago. That might worry some people but this might be things going back to norm instead of books doing really well.
A big reason that last year did much better was the sale of Dr. Seuss books. A decision by DR. Guess Enterprises (did not know that was a thing) to stop publication of six older books because of they contained racism and insensitive images. That should have drove sales down but any press is good press as they say.
According to an outlet covers book sales, juvenile fiction category saw the biggest drop in sales by 27 %. This is because Dr Seuss books were selling really well. The number one book last year this time was Green Eggs and Ham which sold over 105,000 copies. This time around, it only sold around 28,000. Funny enough, it was still the top selling juvenile fiction book.
As you can see, this is more Dr. Seuss related news then actually about books overall. Other genres also saw a decline in sales but it wasn’t as drastic. My guess would be the bad economy and prices for nearly everything increasing, leaving people less to spend on books.
Besides that, I do not think there has been a book that has drawn the public’s attention over the past year. As COVID restrictions are still in place in a lot of places and a new surge took place a couple of times, you can see why books haven’t done well. Authors still haven’t really gone back to their normal lives. If another surge happens and if this war goes on, we will see it reflected in a decline in book sales for months to come.
But that is neither here or there. No matter the era, print books are here to stay. Amazon is closing its bookstores but that means other mom-and-dad shops are going to see more customers. Books being banned usually leads to a high demand for that book.
I would not worry about this but I felt it was still something to cover because it is always great to know how the print business is doing. What do you make of this news and do you want to see more posts like this? Let me know in the comments.
I have taken to purchasing books again just to have to satisfaction of sharing them in the little free library cabinets in the neighborhood. I do still read e-books and have an audible subscription but there is nothing S satisfying as an actual book
I agree. Ebooks are more convenient but nothing beats an a physical book!