November 15, 2001 Bookstore Sales Surge in August Bookstore sales in August improved over the previous August by an impressive 20.1 percent. Preliminary sales of $2,052 million for August 2001 were well ahead of the $1,708 million performance of August 2000. The August bookstore sales results extended the healthy trend in bookstore sales, which continued to outpace overall retail. Preliminary overall retail sales in August, at $307 billion, came in 4.4 percent over the $294 billion in sales recorded the previous August. This was the 19th month in a row that bookstore sales exceeded sales of the previous year. 2000-2001 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES (unadjusted) Period 2000 Final (Millions of Dollars) 2001 (Millions of Dollars) %Increase 2001 Over 2000 January 1,552 1,771 14.1 February 1,133 1,213 7.1 March 1,077 1,214 12.7 April 1,024 1,078 5.3 May 1,166 1,238 6.2 June 1,191 1,251 5.0 July 1,120 1,171 4.6 August 1,708 2,052(p) 20.1 YTD 9,971 10,987 10.2 (p) Preliminary figure Note: Estimates reflect sales of all types of participating bookstore, including trade, college, religious, chain stores (including superstores), and others. A bookstore is defined as any retail establishment with sales comprised of more than 50 percent new books and periodicals, and estimates include sales of all products in these stores. Special Note: As of March 2001, the Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch, began using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in place of the Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC). The Bureau of the Census has restated the SIC data for monthly sales to a NAICS basis to create an historic series beginning with January 1992 through March 2001. A more complete summary of methodology will be posted at a later date. Source: Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch Topics: Industry Statistics, News - Bookselling,