New report finds mixed trends for international book sales

A new report published by the European and International Booksellers Federation presents a global overview of the bookselling markets in 2022, reports Publishers Weekly.

The report is based on reporting from 16 countries across Europe, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States. The authors of the report observed there were ‘two distinct trends across the globe’. ‘Half of the analysed markets experienced a clear decrease in book sales last year, while the other half reported stability and, in some cases, a positive development in turnover,’ the authors wrote.

The authors attributed the trend to two main factors: the exceptional circumstances in 2021 that led to a 10-year high, making sales data from 2022 appear modest by comparison; and rising inflation, as well as the energy crisis in Europe, limiting readers’ purchasing power, as well as pushing up production costs.

The Netherlands recorded the biggest bookshop sales increase of 27% in 2022, after shops there were closed during the 2021 holidays. France and the US had the biggest drops, down 6.5% and 6% respectively.

Category: International news