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Book sales have been once again hit by competition between supermarkets and dedicated booksellers, and a "sluggish" non-fiction market, according to the British Retail Consortium.
UK retail sales values increased 4.4% on a like-for-like basis from March 2009, when sales had dropped 1.2%. Total sales were down 6.6%.
The consortium said non-food sales had been affected by "consumer caution in the face of economic and political uncertainty [which] favoured essentials and replacements over discretionary items".
It said: "Book sales remained down on a year ago, amid strong competition between supermarkets and specialists. World Book Day helped children's titles, but non-fiction remained sluggish."
Between January and March, the non-food sales increased by 1.8% on a like -for-like basis and 4.1% on a total basis. This is compared to a 6% drop in value sales in the 12 weeks to 20th March, according to figures from Nielsen Bookscan.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: "These are strong figures - the best total sales growth since April 2006, - but they would have been only half as good without the distorting effect of Easter. "
But, he added: "Non-food is... a competitive battleground as retailers fight it out to entice customers being put off spending by pre-election uncertainty."