May 30, 1998 Study Shows Anemic Retail Book Market FOR RELEASE ON OR AFTER MAY 30, 1998, 3:30 p.m. CDT Contact: ABA Len Vlahos (914) 591-2665, ext. 215 Study Shows Anemic Retail Book Market U.S. Book Market Grows Slower than Population Tarrytown, NY (May 30, 1998) -- The Consumer Research Study on Book Purchasing, released today by the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), shows that book purchases by U.S households grew just 0.6 percent from 1996 to 1997. Purchases (Excluding juvenile titles) totaled 1.060 billion units in 1996 and 1.067 billion in 1997. During the same period, the U.S. population grew approximately one percent, suggesting that actual per household purchases were down in 1997. "The competition for leisure time and leisure dollars is intense," said Richard Howorth, ABA's new president and the owner of Square Books in Oxford, MS. "What's really troubling here is that the big box, publicly funded bookstores are expanding at a rabid pace unabated into a market that unfortunately must be described as anemic. Something's got to give, and I hope it's not ultimately the quality of reading for the American public." The study also showed that purchases at independent bookstores and small chains declined for the fourth consecutive year, falling seven percent from 1996 to 1997. During that four-year period (1993- 1997), sales fell 23 percent at independents and small chains, and market share for these outlets declined 7 percentage points from 24.2 to 17.2 percent. Independent market share was 32.5 percent in 1991, the first year the study was conducted. Conversely, book club purchases grew 11 percent from 1996 to 1997, and for the first time in the seven-year history of the study, more books were purchased through book clubs than through independent/small chain bookstores. The fastest growing outlet type was mail order, showing a 19 percent increase in unit purchases. The 1997 study was also the first in which purchases made online were tracked separately. Accounting for just 0.3 percent of adult book purchases, ABA officials posited that this outlet is poised for growth. "I'm quite surprised at how small this study shows Internet purchases to be," said Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA's Chief Executive Officer. "Given what our members have been experiencing, I expect that number to grow exponentially over the next few years, and for the online market to have a major impact on bricks and mortar retailing." The data for the study -- conducted by the NPD Group for both the ABA and BISG -- is obtained from diaries filled out by a panel of consumers in 16,000 households for a variety of their purchases each month. The panel is nationally representative of the U.S population in terms of size of household, geographic location, and more. The sampling error at 95 percent confidence level is +/- 0.4 percent. Other results of the NPD study include purchases analyzed by category and 1997 juvenile purchases. The full study can be purchased from BISG for $295. For information, contact Sandy Paul at 212- 929-1393. About the ABA Founded in 1900, the American Booksellers Association is a not-for-profit trade organization devoted to meeting the needs of its core members -- independently-owned bookstores with retail store front locations -- through advocacy, education, research, and information dissemination. The ABA actively supports free speech, literacy, and programs that encourage children to read. The Association -- headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, and on the Web at www.bookweb.org -- also hosts the annual ABA Convention in conjunction with BookExpo America each spring. ### Topics: News - Bookselling,