From January 2 to May 21, 2017, the sales of specialized nonfiction books accounted for ** percent of the book sales revenue in Brazil, up from less than ** percent in 2015. The education, children, and young adults category accounted for ** percent of the sales revenue in the indicated period in 2017, up from ** percent in 2015.

This statistic shows the distribution of general book sales in the Netherlands in 2017, by genre. In 2017, 20 percent of general books sold in the Netherlands were non-fiction leisure books.

In 2017, textbooks generated an estimated revenue of ****** million U.S. dollars, making books in this category the best-selling type of print book in terms of online sales. Meanwhile, the second most lucrative category were printed children’s books, and online sales of print books centered around business amounted to almost *** million U.S. dollars.

The U.S. book market: an overview

Although many traditional industries are struggling to keep up with consumers’ growing demand for digital formats, retail sales of U.S. bookstores tend to reach between *** and *** million dollars per month. In the months of December, January, and August, such sales frequently either hit or surpass the *** billion dollar mark, a trend which has been evident for the last five years.

However, whilst bookstore sales remain comparatively healthy, other elements of the U.S. book industry are suffering. Higher education book publishing revenue has dropped by more than one billion U.S. dollars since 2013, and student spending on course material also noticeably decreased during the same time period. Major chain Barnes & Noble hasn’t had it easy, either – the company’s retail sales have dropped consistently year on year since 2012 and show no signs of improving. Barnes & Noble’s e-reader brand NOOK also proved to be somewhat of a disappointment, with net sales taking a nosedive from over *** million U.S. dollars in 2012 to less than *** million in 2018.

The graph shows the distribution of e-book unit sales on Amazon worldwide as of February 2017, broken down by publisher category. The source found that among the e-books sold on Amazon, 35 percent were published by independent (Indie) self-publishers.

The statistic presents information on the increase of print book unit sales within the romance sub-genre category in Canada between 2013 and 2017. The data reveals that the the highest growth of print book unit sales between 2013 and 2017 occurred within the 'Clean & Wholesome' sub-genre, followed by romance books in the LGBT category which grew 29,700 percent in four years.

In 2023, the German book market generated a revenue of almost 7.3 billion euros from print book sales and around 850 million euros from e-books. Revenue for both segments has remained stable during the period of consideration, with e-book revenue even rising in recent years. The German book market lives on. Book retail Despite repeated dire warnings about reading dying out and bookshops suffering as a result, Germans have not stopped reading or buying books, whether physically or online. Of course, the traditional book trade does face challenges, especially with the rise of e-books. Revenue development in the German book trade has fluctuated during the last two years, which was undoubtedly still influenced by the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, when physical book retail locations were closed for months on end and book sales through those channels took a big hit. Brick and mortar shops stocking books were still the leading source of revenue among book buying locations, followed by mail order (whether from a shop or buying online in general). Curled up with a book German readers reach for a variety of genres when making their book choices. Preferences and trends, or, more specifically, sales figures, change periodically. Most recently, leading subjects included fiction, children's and young adult's books. 14.4 million Germans read for leisure several times a week.

The statistic presents the trade book net sales revenue generated in the United States in 2017 and 2018, broken down by category. Adult fiction and non-fiction generated over 5.1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2018, up from just under 4.9 billion in the previous year.

This statistic presents the leading e-book genres in the United States in 2017, by units sold. In 2017, approximately ***** million romance e-books were sold in the United States.

The graph shows the distribution of e-book unit sales on Apple worldwide as of February 2017, broken down by publisher category. The source found that among the e-books sold on Apple, ** percent were published by independent (Indie) self-publishers.

The best-selling print book in the United States in 2023 ranked by unit sales was "It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover, with a total of just over 1.29 million sales. Other successful books which sold well that year included two more by Hoover, including "It Starts With Us" and "Verity". The top 10 best-selling print books in 2023 were written mostly by women, with Rebecca Yarros also enjoying over one million unit sales of both her books "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flames". Prince Harry's book "Spare" ranked third with 1.22 million units sold. Print book sales remain stable In 2023, adult nonfiction sales of print books in the U.S. amounted to over 280 million. Whilst this was the lowest recorded since 2017, the category remained the bestselling book category. Adult fiction sales on the other hand rose to over 190 million units, continuing the upward trend from previous years. Despite the growing prevalence of digital books, print remains a popular option. Print still accounts for the majority of U.S. book sales revenue According to the most recently available data, the size of the U.S. audiobook market was estimated at 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, and could soon surpass the two billion dollar mark if annual growth continues at the same rate. Whilst sales of digital books are generally more difficult to track and therefore prone to adjustments, data shows that print still accounts for the majority of U.S. books sales revenue, at roughly three times the amount generated by e-books and audiobooks combined. Print book sales in the U.S are overall higher than in the early 2000s, showing not only an ongoing interest in the format but even an uptick in book buying in recent years.

This statistic displays a breakdown of book publisher’s sales volume in France from 2010 to 2018, by genre. It shows that the children's literature segment continuously accounted for approximately ********* of books sold during this time period. In 2018, youth literature amounted to 14 percent of publishers’ revenue.

A surprisingly stable market

It would be incorrect to consider that the emergence of new media such as video games or social networks would have damaged the book industry. As a matter of fact, the revenues recorded by publishing houses have remained relatively stable over the past few years. The same is true for Hachette, one of the most prominent French publishing houses, which recorded profits amounting to *** million euros in 2018.

The advent of digital reading In 2019, more than ******* of French readers claimed to have read twenty books or more over the past 12 months, **** percent of them had done so via an e-book reader. Although still an alternative, digital books have become highly popular among French readers, who quickly adopted the flexibility and adaptability they offered. The value of digital book sales has quadrupled between 2010 and 2017 alone.

The graph shows the distribution of e-book unit sales in the United States in 2017, broken down by publisher category. The source found that among e-books sold in the United States, ** percent were published by independent (Indie) self-publishers.

This statistic displays the total number of e-books sold in Flanders (Belgium) in the first half of 2017, by genre. In this period, roughly roughly 700 e-books on travel were sold in Flanders.

The statistic presents information on the Rrmance category sales as share of fiction and total book sales in Canada in 2017. The data reveals that sales of the romance category made up **** percent of all fiction sales in Canada in 2017, and accounted for *** percent of all print books sold in the country that year.

Do French people love self-books? They sure do, and one of their favorite genres appears to be books related to health, well-being and family life. Between 2017 and 2018, more than ********** books dedicated to these topics were sold in France. This came as no surprise, with DIY and lifestyle books being the most popular book genre in the country.

Reading: a way to relax and improve yourself

In 2014, a majority of French people declared that reading was the leisure activity they prioritize the most when they want to relax. Despite the development of new technologies and digital activities, reading books, and particularly self-help books, seems to be one of the favorite leisure activities of French people. Thus, reading is perceived as a way to unwind, as well as a mean to deepen their knowledge.

The book consumption of French people

France is one of the most important book markets in Europe. In 2016, more than *********** book units were sold in the country. In a survey from 2015, it could be seen that ********** of French people declared reading. Reading is a popular activity in the country, and most French readers admit to favor printed books over digital ones. If people spend these days a lot of time at work, with family or commuting, it appears that more than a quarter of French people find enough time to read ** books or more in a year.

The graph shows the distribution of e-book unit sales on Kobo worldwide as of *************, broken down by publisher category. The source found that among the e-books sold on Kobo, ** percent were published by independent (Indie) self-publishers.

The graph shows the distribution of e-book unit sales on Barnes & Noble's Nook worldwide as of February 2017, broken down by publisher category. The source found that among the e-books sold on Nook, ** percent were published by independent (Indie) self-publishers.

This statistic shows the sales value of self-help books in France in 2017-2018, by category. That year, one of the most popular categories of self-help books were books related to health, well-being and family life. They generated a sales value of 80.1 million euros in France in 2017/2018. The sales value of cooking books and other food and drink related books was higher than 68 million euros.

In the first half of 2018, general adult fiction books were the most successful in terms of sales with over **** million units sold in the United States during that time, but certain genres were far more popular than others. Unit sales of classics reached almost *** million, outperforming books in the fantasy category, and almost *** million graphic novels were sold. Among the most popular genres were romance and suspense/thrillers, with unit sales surpassing **** million and *** million respectively.

When it comes to nonfiction, business and economics books sold well in the first six months of 2018, as well as biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. However, **** million religious books and bibles were sold, superseding general nonfiction sales and making religion the best-selling adult nonfiction category in the U.S. during that time period.

The changing book market

Whilst it is true that demand for and spending on traditional media is waning as digital sources take over, books are still a popular source of entertainment, education, and recreation. But, like the newspaper and magazine market, the book industry found itself needing to adapt.

A key example of how the book market has changed is the advent of audiobooks, which allow users to enjoy books on the go in the same way they would listen to a podcast or stream their favorite music. Audiobooks in the fiction category are far more popular than nonfiction audiobooks, suggesting that buyers tend to use audiobooks more for recreation than education and listen to them on the go. Equally, the share of adults in the U.S. who listen to audiobooks in their car rather than at home grew between 2018 and 2019, demonstrating a growing trend towards on the go book consumption.

E-books are another popular, modern way to enjoy reading, though what they offer the consumer is not dissimilar to a print book when it comes to the act of reading itself. E-readers allow users to access any number of books at a given time, and as such e-books have less to do with flexibility in terms of consumption location or habit, but more to do with ease of access (and for avid readers, likely how many book shelves they need).

The best-selling print book in the United States in 2024 ranked by unit sales was "The Women" by Kristin Hannah, with a over **** million sales. Other successful books which sold well that year included two successful titles by Colleen Hoover, including "It Starts With Us" and "It Ends With Us". The top 10 best-selling print books in 2024 were written mostly by women, with Rebecca Yarros also enjoying over ******* unit sales of both her books "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame". Print book sales remain stable In 2023, adult nonfiction sales of print books in the U.S. amounted to over *** million. Whilst this was the lowest recorded since 2017, the category remained the bestselling book category. Adult fiction sales on the other hand rose to over *** million units, continuing the upward trend from previous years. Despite the growing prevalence of digital books, print remains a popular option. Print still accounts for the majority of U.S. book sales revenue According to the most recently available data, the size of the U.S. audiobook market was estimated at *** billion U.S. dollars, and could soon surpass the *** billion dollar mark if annual growth continues at the same rate. Whilst sales of digital books are generally more difficult to track and therefore prone to adjustments, data shows that print still accounts for the majority of U.S. books sales revenue, at roughly ***** times the amount generated by e-books and audiobooks combined. Print book sales in the U.S are overall higher than in the early 2000s, showing not only an ongoing interest in the format but even an uptick in book buying in recent years.