As the recession continues, U.S. bookstore sales slipped 4.2 percent during the first quarter of 2009. However, the slide seems to be slowing–February saw sales drop 11 percent, while sales only dipped 1.2 percent in March.
Publishers Weekly has the complete report, crunching retail estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared to slipping sales in all retail markets, the bookselling drop is less steep.
Here’s more from the article: “February the worst month for bookstore sales since the downturn began last fall. For all of retail, March sales were down 10.7% and first quarter sales were off 10.2%.”