Bookstores Show Signs of Health

JanePublishing NewsComments Off on Bookstores Show Signs of Health

While Barnes & Noble saw a decline in sales and store traffic, the fall wasn’t as steep as expected. Sales declined 4& to $1.11 billion and a net loss of #2.1 million for the first quarter 09. April was the best month in terms of sales and that non fiction bestsellers had an “uptick”. B&N.com sales were lower despite increased traffic because of “lower conversion rates of visitors to the site.” The CEO notes that digital books are a growing competition to in store sales. See more at Publisher’s Weekly.

Books-A-Million actually posted a 2 % increase in sales during the first quarter, with revenue hitting $118.2 million with same store sales falling just slightly. “The decline in comp sales was attributed to sluggish store traffic and price-sensitive consumers.”Publisher’s Weekly.

Jane

Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She self publishes NA and contemporaries (and publishes with Berkley and Montlake) and spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty. You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

→ Jane