The sales of print books have increased 2.8% in 2015, which is the second year in a row that the format has posted significant gains. In 2014 paperback and hardcover books rose 2.4%.
Nielsen Bookscan is reporting that in 2015 over 652 million books were sold in the United States. The data stems from major publishers who account for over 80% of print unit sales.
The retail and club channel had a particularly good year in 2015, with sales up 5.4% over 2014. The increase offset an 8.8% drop in sales through the mass merchandisers channel. The retail and club segment includes independent and chain bookstores, as well as Amazon; the mass merchandiser channel includes such large chains as Walmart.
The hottest category in 2015 was art/architecture/photography, which had a 60% increase in unit sales in 2015 over 2014. Adult coloring books fall into this category and they had a huge year. Animal Kingdom: Color Me, Draw Me sold over 332,000 copies.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
