05.08.11 | Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone - The Bookseller
Publishers and independent booksellers are stressing the importance of "working harder" on hardback fiction titles, as sales of the format fell by £3.2m over the first half of 2011.Leading publishing figures and independent booksellers said increasing e-book sales were a contributing factor in the sales drop, but Simon & Schuster executive director Kerr MacRae said e-books are not enough to be an "excuse". According to Nielsen BookScan data, sales of hardback fiction titles fell by 10% year on year in the seven months to 30th July, with sales of paperback fiction down only 6% to 18th June.
The recommended retail price for fiction hardbacks has correspondingly gone up over the period, with r.r.p. up by 0.9%, or 15p, year on year, and up 10.9%, or £1.61, on five years ago. Average discounts have also increased, rising this year to 37.2%, up from 34.8% last year and 29.8% five years ago. The average selling price has fallen by 2.8%, or 30p, year on year to £10.29, and is down 0.9%, or 9p, on five years ago.
Independent booksellers have been hit, emphasising price was the largest factor dissuading customers, with consumers opting to wait for the paperback. Foyles c.e.o. Sam Husain said: "My guess is the concern is due to pricing as the average price appears to be about £20. It is compounded by not so many good titles being available. . . Paperbacks have been selling well and there has been a sense that people have moved to a more competitively priced product."
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