“As an industry we need to come to terms with the new reality – the “new normal” as we liked to call it not so long ago – and address the new paradigm where the bookselling cake has indeed gotten bigger across all formats, but where the bookstores’ share has not rebounded as many had hoped.”
Headlines are strange creatures. They can be used to inject fear, project strength, or bury contradictory detail – often simultaneously.
This week it is the US trade journal Publishers Weekly that juggles the facts.
Yes, US print sales were up 130% in May – the PW headline – and that’s a cause for rejoicing. But hold on, that was up on May 2020, in the middle of a Pandemic-induced lockdown that saw many bookstores closed or offering limited service.
In fact, PW tells us,
Last April and May saw the weakest bookstore sales performances of 2020, with sales in May 2020 totaling just $275 million.
So yes, the $632 million brought in during May 2021 is indeed a 130% leap.
But what about May 2019, the most recent year with a valid comparison with no pandemic-driven bookstore closures?
In fact PW doesn’t hide that statistic, just keeps it well away from the never-say-die headline which will be the primary takeaway for most readers not anal enough to want to read an article to its conclusion.
As compared to May 2019, PW concedes,
May sales this year were down 9.2%.
No, an almost 10% 2021 plummet on the most recent pre-Pandemic year does not mean the sky is falling. Print is still king and bookstores still have an important role to play.
But as an industry we need to come to terms with the new reality – the “new normal” as we liked to call it not so long ago – and address the new paradigm where the bookselling cake has indeed gotten bigger across all formats, but where the bookstores’ share has not rebounded as many had hoped.
