Data showing how many books were sold in 2024 revealed that the printed book market remains healthy: a total of ***** million units were sold that year among outlets which reported to the source. Whilst this marked a small jump from the previous year, the figure peaked in 2021 and has not surpassed *** million since. Trade paperbacks remained the dominant format. Book sales statistics Looking at book sales by year, 2005 to 2010 were the most lucrative for the printed book market, with well over *** million units sold annually during that five-year period. After dropping below *** million in 2012, gradual and consistent increases can be seen each year, with the exception of between the years 2018 and 2019. For bookstores though, how many books are sold each year depends on the success of key months across a twelve-month period. Bookstore sales in the United States are at their highest in December, January, and August, but figures for December are consistently higher than other months. Books are popular holiday gifts, with around ** to ** percent of consumers responding to annual surveys in each year from 2012 to 2020 saying that they planned to purchase books as presents during the festive season.

Adult fiction book sales increased by *** percent between 2022 and 2023, with 2023 unit sales hitting ***** million, up from just over *** million in the previous year. All other categories saw a year-over-year decrease in print unit sales, particularly juvenile non-fiction, which suffered a decrease of *** percent.

The sales of books by language of printing , by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 511130 book publishers, which include all members under sales, (dollars X 1,000,000), every 2 years, for five years of data.

Net value of book sales by customer category, includes all members under Net value of book sales by customer category, for Book publishers, for Canada and regions, for one year of data.

Book sales revenue in the United States in 2022 amounted to *** billion U.S. dollars, of which *** billion was derived from hardback books. Meanwhile, paperback and mass market books reached **** billion U.S. dollars, in line with trends showing consistent growth in this segment since 2017. The source reported e-book revenue as *** billion U.S. dollars, a drop from the previous two years, whereas downloaded audiobook revenue continued to grow, and in 2022 surpassed *** million U.S. dollars for the first time.

The sales by nationality of authors by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 511130 book publishers, which include all members under breakdown of sales by nationality of authors, (dollars X 1,000,000), every 2 years, for five years of data.

Graph and download economic data for Retail Sales: Book Stores (MRTSSM451211USN) from Jan 1992 to Apr 2025 about book, retail trade, sales, retail, and USA.

In 2022, data representing ** national associations of publishers in Europe found that **** percent of books were sold in bookstores and specialized stores. Online sales accounted for **** percent of the total, whilst **** percent of books were sold through supermarkets or other stores.

The net value of book sales for Canadian publishers by customer category by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 511130 book publishers, which include all members under net value of book sales by customer category, (dollars X 1,000,000), every 2 years, for five years of data.

United States Retail Sales: Book Stores data was reported at 1.320 USD bn in Aug 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 661.000 USD mn for Jul 2018. United States Retail Sales: Book Stores data is updated monthly, averaging 1.022 USD bn from Jan 1992 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 320 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.425 USD bn in Aug 2008 and a record low of 523.000 USD mn in Apr 1992. United States Retail Sales: Book Stores data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H001: Retail Sales: By NAIC System.

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This dataset contains lists of best-selling books and book series in any language. The term "best-selling" refers to the expected number of copies sold for each book, not the number of books printed or currently owned. This list excludes comic books and textbooks. The books are arranged in the order of the greatest sales estimate reported by credible, independent sources.

Data on revenue from hardback book sales according to the publishers reporting to the source in the United States between 2016 and 2022 showed that the figure increased consistently on an annual basis with the exception of 2019 and 2022, and reached heights of 3.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Hardback print sales generally account for roughly 30 to 35 percent of total trade sales.

Graph and download economic data for Producer Price Index by Commodity: Publishing Sales, Excluding Software: Sales of General Reference Books (WPU331105) from Dec 1980 to May 2025 about book, software, printing, sales, commodities, PPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

E-commerce sales by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) include all members under distribution of sales, for book publishers, for Canada, for two years of data.

Number of Businesses statistics on the Online Book Sales industry in United States

Trade e-book revenue amounted to ****billion U.S. dollars in 2023. The source noted that e-book sales revenue grew only marginally by *** percent between 2022 and 2023, whereas digital audio revenue was up by almost ** percent.

Print books account for the majority of book sales in Italy, and generated over 1.77 billion euros in revenue in 2022. Audiobooks are the fastest growing format, with revenue increasing almost threefold between 2019 and 2021 and still rising year over year from 2021 to 2022.

The statistic above presents data on consumer book sales in the United States from 2008 to 2013 and a forecast until 2018, broken down by platform. According to PwC, the U.S. print and audiobook market value will fall from 13.1 billion in 2011 to 7.94 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

E-books in the United States – additional information

In a survey among authors and publishers in May 2014, the following question was asked; How would you rate the quality of most e-books you have read? Only 7.91 percent of respondents stated the felt the quality of e-books was excellent and a further 31.63 percent of respondents stated that the quality was okay. These results suggest that there are some improvements to be made in the industry in order to secure its popularity in the future.

A cheaper alternative to purchasing a book, in any format, is of course to borrow the book from a local library where the choices are endless. In the recent past, libraries have become aware of the need to cater to the e-reader community. In a survey of over 500 public libraries in the U.S. between April and July 2014, respondents were asked if their library offered e-books. An overwhelming majority of 95 percent stated that they did.

However, when it came to the book consumption per capita in the U.S. in March 2014, by format, e-books were still trailing behind. In a survey of those aged 18 and over, 46 percent of respondents stated that they only read hard books compared to six percent of respondents who stated that they only read e-books. This reveals that in early 2014 that the traditional paper book was still the more appealing format to readers.

In March 2023, Prince Harry was the best-selling author in Poland with his personal publication, "Ten drugi". Over 4.2 thousand copies of his book were sold in the observed period.

Popularity of books in Poland

The number of public libraries in Poland has been on a downward trend from year to year. However, it does not change the fact that many Poles like to spend time on good reading. This is evidenced, among other things, by the number of books published and the earnings of popular authors. In 2022, Polish writer and children's book illustrator Anita Głowińska sold more than two million copies of her books, having earned nearly three million zloty. However, the highest-earning writer in Poland was crime/thriller novelist Remigiusz Mróz, who earned about 3.1 million zloty by selling almost 900 thousands of his books.

Books in hard copy versus electronic format

The number of bookstores, like libraries, is also experiencing annual declines in Poland. This may be related to the growing popularity of e-books. As of early 2023, Audioteka, a free app from which people can download or listen to audiobooks, generated nearly 2.5 million U.S. dollars in revenue. As for devices, meanwhile, the most popular e-book reader was Amazon Kindle 10, which could be purchased for 400 zloty at the lowest price.

Between 2010 and 2019, the best-selling book in the United States was 'Fifty Shades of Grey' by E. L. James, with 15.2 million print and digital copies sold. 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed' ranked second and third respectively, meaning that the series ended the decade with almost 35 million print and e-book sales in total. All three books have been adapted into films, and whilst the series received a number of nominations and wins for Golden Raspberry Awards, it ranks among the highest-grossing R-rated film franchises of all time. Every book to rank in the top ten best-selling books of the decade has made it to the silver screen, and the first movie instalment within 'The Hunger Games' series generated almost 700 million U.S. dollars in box offices worldwide.