(NEWS)

by Jim Milliot —

(This article was originally posted on Publishers Weekly.)

Unit sales of print books rose 2% in 2014 at outlets that report to BookScan

“Unit sales of print books sold through outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan rose 2.4% in 2014, with total units topping 635 million. The gain was driven by a 3.4% increase in unit sales through the retail and club channel relative to 2013, which offset a 1.8% decline in sales through the mass merchandiser channel and others during the same period. Units through retailers and clubs, which include Amazon and all types of bookstores, rose to just under 519 million; in 2013, print units through the channel fell 2.5% compared to the previous year.

BookScan estimates that it captures approximately 80% of print-unit sales made in the U.S. The company added Walmart to its mass merchandiser panel in 2013, but was not able to include historical data, making it difficult to track precise long-term unit trends. Still, the 2014 figures are further evidence that print books are selling better than they have since sales of e-books exploded in 2010 and Borders closed its doors in 2011. Total print-unit sales bottomed out in 2012, falling to 590 million, but in the two years since then, units have risen 7.6% (helped to some degree by the addition of Walmart to BookScan).”…

(You can read the full article at Publishers Weekly.)