The Association of American Publishers has proclaimed that eBook sales were down 24.9% in January and the format generated $99.9 million in revenue. It looks like the e-book decline from 2015, has carried over into 2016.
Big Picture Data:
- Publishers’ book sales for Jan. 2016 were $991.7 million, down 6.7% from $1.06 billion in Jan. 2015. These numbers include sales for all tracked categories (Trade – fiction/non-fiction/religious, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses.)
- Trade (consumer) books sales were $488.0 million in Jan. 2016, down 13.7% from $565.4 million in Jan. 2015. This includes Childrens/YA Books, Adult Books and Religious Books.
o Adult Books had $338.9 million in sales in Jan. 2016, down 12.9% from $389.2 million.
o Childrens/YA Books had $111.7 million in sales in Jan 2016, down 20.4% from $140.3 million.
o Religious Presses grew by 4.2%, up to $37.5 million from $36.0 million.
Format Trends for Trade
- Trends appeared to continue from 2015. In Jan. 2016 vs Jan. 2015:
o Paperback books grew 4.3% to $169.3 million and downloaded audio grew 30.1% to $20.4 million.
o eBooks were down 24.9% to $99.9 million and hardback books declined 18.7% to $151.3 million.
Educational Materials and Professional Books
- Educational Materials had gains of 7.9% for K-12 Instructional Materials and 2.2% for Higher Education Course Materials, in Jan. 2016 vs Jan. 2015.
- Professional Publishing was down 19.8% in Jan. 2016 vs Jan. 2015 which includes business, medical, law, scientific and technical books and journals.
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.
