Data showing how many books were sold in 2023 revealed that the printed book market remains healthy: a total of 767.36 million units were sold that year among outlets which reported to the source. Whilst this marked a small drop from the previous year, the figure still remains higher than in the years prior to 2021. 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 700 million units sold annually during that five-year period. After dropping below 600 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 30 to 40 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 0.8 percent between 2022 and 2023, with 2023 unit sales hitting 190.8 million, up from just over 189 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 7.1 percent.

Data from a 2019 survey revealed that 65 percent of adults had read a printed book in the last year, down from 67 percent in the previous year. The share of adults who read print books tends to fluctuate annually, but since 2011 the majority of survey respondents have thus far always reported doing so each year.

Print book sales statistics and consumption habits

Printed books are performing well in the United States demonstrating perhaps surprising but positive growth in terms of unit sales. Print book sales in 2018 amounted to 695 million, the highest figure recorded since 2010.

Print books are still by far the most popular book format among U.S. adults, though data shows that there has been a drop in print book readership among adults who did not complete high school. Between 2018 and 2019, the share of adults in this category who had read a print book within the twelve months leading to the survey dropped by ten percent.

On a more positive note, a separate survey revealed that U.S. adults were able to list several key benefits to reading physical books. More than 80 percent of respondents said that reading print books helped them to learn about history, focus their attention, or find out about different cultures, and others found reading physical books useful for reducing their stress levels or enhancing their creativity.

Print also remains by far the most popular format for U.S. Bible readers, and when it comes to comics and graphic novels, print formats make up the vast majority of sales revenue, not just in the United States but across all of North America.

The sales value of printed books in Japan amounted to 593.7 billion Japanese yen in 2024, which was a decrease of 25.7 billion yen compared to the previous year. Printed books and printed magazines together constitute the print publishing market. In 2021, the printed books segment was able to grow for the first time in 15 years as a result of the increased demand from people who spent more time at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While the situation was similar in 2020, the temporary closure of book stores during that year had a negative effect on the sales figures.

The number of print books sold in the United Kingdom amounted to 209.1 million in 2022, down from 212 in the previous year. The 2021 figure marked the highest on record since 2012, whereas the number recorded in 2020 was the first time since 2012 that book sales in the UK surpassed 200 million, with 202 million books sold nationwide that year. This growth was attributed mostly to the coronavirus outbreak, which saw many consumers increase their media consumption during various local and national lockdowns. This growth continued in 2021, with sales that year up by five percent from 2020.

Book consumption and COVID-19

In March 2020 when countries across the world implemented measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus, consumers upped their in-home media usage to keep themselves occupied during lockdown. Close to 20 percent of UK internet users who participated in a survey in March 2020 reported reading more books or listening to more audiobooks at home during that time, and later waves of the survey held in May saw that figure climb above 30 percent.

By the summer of 2020, despite the gradual reopening of society as infection rates declined, a survey held in July showed that consumers expected in-home media consumption changes even after the pandemic came to an end. Book consumption, both physical and digital, ranked among the top ten media formats UK consumers planned to spend more time with in the future.

Digital book market Digital books are growing more and more popular in the United Kingdom, with e-book download frequency having increased in the last few years along with general e-book access. Audiobooks are also carving a path for themselves in the market, and consumer audiobook download sales revenue was close to one billion GBP in 2019. In the same year, book publishing houses reported 710 million British pounds in revenue generated through digital books sales, up from 126 million a decade earlier.

Reading books remains a popular pastime for U.S. adults, with 75 percent of respondents to a 2021 survey saying that they had read a book in any format within the last year. Despite online media formats now being the preferred option for many consumers when it comes to television, music, and gaming, print books are by far the most popular format among readers in the United States. Whilst almost double the share of adults now read audiobooks compared to 2011, only 23 percent claimed to have read an audiobook in the last year compared to 65 percent who said that they had read a print book.

Book sales in the United States

In 2020, bookstore sales in the United States amounted to 8.84 billion U.S. dollars. Sales in 2019 and 2020 were the lowest recorded since the early 1990s, and the combined effect of the coronavirus outbreak, along with the growing appeal of online purchasing, will likely mean that bookstore sales will continue to drop. Bookstores tend to see most success in August, December, and January, and sales revenue often surpasses one billion U.S. dollars in those months each year. That said, monthly retail sales of bookstores in the U.S. are notably lower overall than in previous years and were particularly poor in spring 2020 as a result of national shutdowns to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Influence of COVID-19 on reading habits

The coronavirus pandemic led to increased media consumption in general, but not only among avid video and music streaming fans. Data from a survey in March 2020 revealed that 40 percent of Millennials read more books due to the COVID-19 outbreak, making consumers in this group the most likely to have done so compared to 33 percent of the total survey sample. Meanwhile, 61 percent of Boomers said that their reading habits had not changed.

In 2021, print book sales totaled nearly 180 million euros in Finland. That year, schoolbook and textbook sales generated 78 million euros of revenue. Non-fiction print books sold in wholesale and directly to consumers generated a revenue of 46 million euros. By comparison, one million euros of 2021 print book sales revenue came from comics books.

The statistic above presents the annual print book unit sales in selected countries worldwide as of February 2017. According to the source, approximately 675 million print books were sold in the United States annually.

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.

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.

In 2021, mass market paperback sales grew by over 20 million from the previous year, with over 249.7 million units sold compared to the 226.3 million sold in 2020. The only format not to have seen sales growth between 2020 and 2021 was mass market paperbacks. Sales dropped by 3.1 percent year over year, and a consistent annual decline can be seen from 2013 onwards.

Estimates show that 191 million e-books were sold in the United States in 2020, according to the most recently available data. Precise figures on e-book sales are difficult to gather due to smaller publishers and major retailers such as Amazon being missed from sales data, and other factors such as the varying methodologies sources use to track and measure the market. For example, whilst figures for 2016 and 2017 are lower than the immediately preceding years, it was noted that figures for these years only included around 450 publishers. E-books in the U.S. E-book sales revenue in the United States fluctuates, and like unit sales, is prone to readjustments and changes in measurement. The best and most accurate estimates place revenue at over one billion U.S. dollars, the highest recorded so far but only a small improvement from the numbers given for 2017 and 2018. Expenditure on digital book readers also wavers, tending to hover between 19 and 25 U.S. dollars per year. In 2013, annual spending on e-readers averaged over 30 U.S. dollars, but the number has not reached that level again since, suggesting that such devices have already lost ground as consumers instead opt to use their smartphones for on-the-go media consumption. E-book readers Book fans all across the United States read e-books, though data on e-book readers by urbanity shows that consumers in rural parts of the country are less likely to engage with the format than those living in urban and suburban areas. Survey data on print and digital book readership highlights the continued preference for print, with only a small number of consumers exclusively reading digital books. However, growing numbers of book readers favor a combination of print and digital books, which is good news for publishers branching out beyond traditional formats but still wanting to produce printed books.

Over 230 million print books were sold in Russia in 2023. That was around 2.7 percent more than in the previous year. In 2019, the volume of book sales was the highest over the observed period.

The statistic shows unit sales of printed books in the United States from 2013 to 2017, broken down by distribution channel. The source reports that U.S. sales of print book through retailers and clubs (including all types of bookstores) reached nearly 594 million units in 2017.

This statistic displays the market share of print books sales in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2012 to 2014, by source of purchase. In 2012, internet-only retailers accounted for 33 percent of print book sales.

This statistic displays data on consumer, educational, and professional book and e-book publishing revenue worldwide in 2013 as well as a forecast for those figures in 2018, broken down by platform and type. According to PwC, consumer e-book revenue is projected to grow from 8.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2013 to 18.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

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.

Print book sales in Russia grew by 11 percent in monetary terms in 2023. The market was also expected to grow in the following two years. The most significant increase over the observed period was recorded in 2021.

In 2017, textbooks generated an estimated revenue of 419.28 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 169 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 650 and 750 million dollars per month. In the months of December, January, and August, such sales frequently either hit or surpass the 1.2 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 930 million U.S. dollars in 2012 to less than 112 million in 2018.

Russia's Central Federal District recorded the highest sales value of print books in the country, at over 42 billion Russian rubles in 2022. The Northwestern and Volga Federal Districts ranked second and third, respectively.