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Struggling non-fiction bestsellers and strong competition between supermarkets and specialist bookshops have caused a decline in book sales, according to the British Retail Consortium.
In its February sales figures, the BRC reported total UK retail sales were up 2.2% on a like for like basis on February 2009, when heavy snowfall was blamed for a yearly sales decline of 1.8%. Sales increased 4.5% on a total basis, compared with 0.1% yearly growth in February 2009.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Despite appearances, these results are not that strong. The growth is compared with very weak figures a year ago when February saw the worst of last winter's weather and this February's performance was helped by sales postponed from January – particularly sales of non-food items such as homewares and fashion.
"Consumer confidence is certainly up on this time last year but, with unemployment rising again, spending plans are falling. When the weather-related distortions are stripped away, it's clear customers are still cautious."Although the BRC does not strip out book sales, its report said: "Book sales remained down on a year ago, amid strong competition between supermarkets and specialists. Non-fiction bestsellers struggled, with fewer top titles this year."
According to figures from Nielsen BookScan, the book market is 6.6% down year on year in the nine weeks to 27th February, with only £249.4m going through the tills.