US print book sales up 8% in 2020

In the US, NPD BookScan has reported that print sales in the US rose 8.2% in 2020, making it the bestselling year for print in a decade, reports Publishing Perspectives.

According to NPD BookScan, the growth was across all major categories, including adult nonfiction, juvenile and teen books.

NPD Books analyst Kristen McLean said the US consumer book market ‘looks very different today, than it did back in April’. ‘Sales growth came in waves, from the sudden need to educate kids at home, to the super-heated political cycle,’ said McLean. ‘All of the additional time people spent at home created a big appetite for reading, including huge spikes in sales of cookbooks and do-it-yourself books, which helped people stay entertained and engaged.’

McLean said growth was led by juvenile fiction in particular, which contributed one-third of the market growth and was up 11% compared to 2019. Adult nonfiction was up 4.8%, while juvenile nonfiction grew 23%.

Category: International news