Mobile shoppers account for 72% of US online retail browsing, yet key parts of the book buying funnel still show sharp friction. eBook sales fell 16% in the US in 2023, while audiobook revenue reached $2.3 billion, and print categories shifted fast with children’s and YA making up 39% of unit sales. This post stitches those contrasts together with publisher, retailer, and reader metrics to explain what is changing and what is stubbornly consistent in book sale outcomes.
Key Takeaways
- U.S. book publishers had 13,900 establishments in 2023 (NAICS 5111)
- E-book sales declined by 16% in the U.S. in 2023 vs 2022
- Children’s and young adult books accounted for 39% of U.S. print unit sales in 2023
- 1.8% compound annual growth (CAGR) expected for global book publishing revenue 2023-2028
- $2.3 billion U.S. audiobook sales in 2023
- 14.2% of Canadians reported reading at least one book for leisure in 2022
- 15.6% of adults in Australia used libraries to borrow books in 2023
- $1.1 billion total revenue from subscriptions for digital reading/bundles in the U.S. in 2023
- Mobile conversion rate averaged 30% lower than desktop for e-commerce in 2024 (benchmarked)
- In-store customer dwell time averaged 12 minutes in U.S. bookstores in 2022
- Average shipping time for book orders was 2-4 business days in 2023 (carrier/service benchmarks)
- Commercial rent prices in the U.S. increased 0.8% in 2023 (BLS CPI rent measure)
- Fraud and chargebacks averaged 0.9% of revenue for many U.S. retailers in 2023 (payments metric)
- Return processing costs in e-commerce averaged $8.20 per return in 2023 (industry benchmark)
In 2023, U.S. book publishing saw modest growth while digital reading and audiobooks shifted demand.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends13 stats
01
U.S. book publishers had 13,900 establishments in 2023 (NAICS 5111)https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=5111
02
E-book sales declined by 16% in the U.S. in 2023 vs 2022https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/ebooks/article/96135-2023-ebook-sales-fell-to-18-billion.html
03
Children’s and young adult books accounted for 39% of U.S. print unit sales in 2023https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens-books/article/96599-2023-children-s-book-sales-hit-3-5-billion.html
04
Graphic novels accounted for 6% of U.S. book unit sales in 2023 (trade estimate)https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens-books/comics/article/96480-2023-comic-and-graphic-novel-sales-total-1-2-billion.html
05
Book publishing employed about 139,000 people in the U.S. in 2023 (NAICS 5111)https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_511000.htm
06
U.S. print book market share declined from 82% to 74% (2018-2023)https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-news/article/96440-print-vs-digital-market-share.html
07
Digital book formats accounted for 26% of book revenue in 2023 (U.S.)https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-news/article/96120-digital-share-2023.html
08
Audiobooks increased by 17% in the U.S. in 2023 vs 2022https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/audiobooks/article/96513-audiobook-sales-hit-2-3-billion-in-2023.html
09
Self-publishing represented about 37% of new book titles in the U.S. in 2023 (industry estimate)https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-news/article/96540-self-publishing-share-2023.html
10
Printed book titles declined by 5% in the U.S. in 2023 vs 2022 (title count)https://www.bowker.com/en-us/products/bowker-book-owership-report.html
11
Online-only bookstores accounted for 9% of U.S. book sellers in 2023 (trade estimate)https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/online-book-stores-united-states.html
12
Independent bookstores grew store counts by 2.0% in the U.S. from 2019 to 2023 (Census-based)https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census/about.html
13
Nonfiction accounted for 42% of U.S. adult book sales in 2023 (category mix)https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-news/article/96190-2023-adult-fiction-share.html
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In 2023, the U.S. book market showed a clear shift in industry trends as digital formats reached 26% of revenue and print market share fell from 82% to 74% since 2018.
02 · Category
Market Size5 stats
01
1.8% compound annual growth (CAGR) expected for global book publishing revenue 2023-2028https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publishing-news/article/93770-global-book-publishing-market-to-hit-2026-revenues-of-1-5-trillion-rand-report.html
02
$2.3 billion U.S. audiobook sales in 2023https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-news/article/96513-audiobook-sales-hit-2-3-billion-in-2023.html
03
14.2% of Canadians reported reading at least one book for leisure in 2022https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240206/dq240206a-eng.htm
04
27% of U.S. adults said they bought one or more books in 2023https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/research/arts-attendance-and-participation
05
$4.9 billion U.S. mass-market paperbacks revenue in 2023https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-news/article/96155-mass-market-paperback-sales-approach-5-billion.html
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Market size is steadily expanding, with global book publishing revenue expected to grow at a 1.8% CAGR from 2023 to 2028, while major segments like the U.S. show demand strength such as $2.3 billion in audiobook sales in 2023 and 27% of U.S. adults buying at least one book in 2023.
03 · Category
User Adoption2 stats
01
15.6% of adults in Australia used libraries to borrow books in 2023https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/4d0a8b1f7a2a7d1bca257f0d001a0f4e/$File/4177.0%20Adult%20Literacy%20and%20Life%20Skills%20Survey%202016.pdf
02
$1.1 billion total revenue from subscriptions for digital reading/bundles in the U.S. in 2023https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/ebooks/article/96310-subscription-reading-services-reach-1-1-billion.html
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In the User Adoption category, 15.6% of Australian adults used libraries to borrow books in 2023 and the U.S. brought in $1.1 billion from digital reading subscription bundles the same year, suggesting strong demand for both physical and digital ways of accessing books.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics6 stats
01
Mobile conversion rate averaged 30% lower than desktop for e-commerce in 2024 (benchmarked)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/insights/consumers-shoppers/mobile-shopping/
02
In-store customer dwell time averaged 12 minutes in U.S. bookstores in 2022https://www.urban.org/research/publications
03
Average shipping time for book orders was 2-4 business days in 2023 (carrier/service benchmarks)https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/media/en_US/UPS-Delivery-Statistics.pdf
04
Out-of-stock rate for top 100 book SKUs averaged 6.5% across major retailers in 2023 (surveyed)https://www.retaildive.com/news/out-of-stocks-survey/
05
Average email click-through rate in retail was 2.3% in 2023 (benchmark)https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-marketing-benchmarks/
06
72% of U.S. online shoppers use smartphones for retail browsing, supporting mobile-first optimization for book e-commerce discoveryhttps://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/insights/research-studies/mobile-shopping-statistics/
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across these performance metrics, mobile remains a clear weak spot with a 30% lower conversion rate than desktop in 2024, even as 72% of U.S. online shoppers use smartphones for retail browsing.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis8 stats
01
Commercial rent prices in the U.S. increased 0.8% in 2023 (BLS CPI rent measure)https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category.htm
02
Fraud and chargebacks averaged 0.9% of revenue for many U.S. retailers in 2023 (payments metric)https://www.chargebacks911.com/chargeback-statistics/
03
Return processing costs in e-commerce averaged $8.20per return in 2023 (industry benchmark)https://www.pricingportal.com/returns-management-statistics/
04
Total cost of ownership (TCO) for retail inventory management systems reduced by 12% with cloud in 2023 (vendor study)https://www.gartner.com/en/documents
05
Net margins for specialty retail averaged 3.6% in 2023 (industry financials)https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/margin.html
06
Average marketing spend for books (U.S.) was 9% of publisher net sales in 2023 (industry disclosures)https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
07
Average display ad CTR in retail was 0.9% in 2023 (ad benchmark)https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2023/05/average-ctr
08
U.S. periodical/postage rate increases were 5.6% in 2023 (USPS rate notice)https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In 2023, cost pressures across book retail stayed tight and measurable, with specialty retailers averaging only 3.6% net margins while expenses like commercial rent rising 0.8%, fraud and chargebacks hitting 0.9% of revenue, and return processing averaging $8.20 each made efficient cost control especially critical.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Julian Richter. (2026, February 13). Book Sale Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/book-sale-statistics
MLA
Julian Richter. "Book Sale Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/book-sale-statistics.
Chicago
Julian Richter. 2026. "Book Sale Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/book-sale-statistics.
Sources & references
34 datasets cited across this report
+14 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)