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February Bookstore Sales Sluggish
Printer-friendly versionBookstore sales turned downward in February after a brief upturn in January. February retail sales for bookstores of $1,069 million were 4.3 percent lower than the $1,117 million generated in February 2002.
Overall retail sales of $271 billion for January 2003 were 3.0 percent ahead of the $263 billion for the previous year. February is the 13th month in a row in which bookstore sales failed to keep pace with overall retail.
|
2002-2003 RETAIL SALES for BOOKSTORES(unadjusted)
|
|
Period
|
2002 Final
(Millions of Dollars) |
2003
(Millions of Dollars) |
% Change
2003 over 2002 |
| January |
2,188
|
2,254
|
3.0
|
| February |
1,117
|
1,069
|
(4.3)
|
| YTD |
3,305
|
3,323
|
0.5
|
(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.
Source: Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch.