US eBook revenues were down 1.5% in Q1 2024

Ebook revenues in the United States were down 1.5% compared to the first three months of 2023, for $255.6 million. However, there is a silver lining: digital audiobook sales saw a significant growth of 15.3% for the first three months, reaching $243.6 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 29.1%, coming in at $2.1 million.

Consumer Book sales were down 2.8% during the first three months of the year, coming in at $2.1 billion. Despite this, physical book formats continue to hold their ground. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the first quarter, in the Consumer Books category, Hardback revenues were down 4.9%, coming in at $733.2 million; Paperbacks were down 3.4%, with $756.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 25.7% to $31.0 million; and Special Bindings were down 7.8%, with $48.5 million in revenue.

Trade (Consumer Books) Revenues by Month

January

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 0.6% in January, reaching $745.8 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during January, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 0.8%, coming in at $268.8 million; Paperbacks were down 2.1%, with $264.4 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 7.4% to $13.6 million; and Special Bindings were up 4.9%, with $17.1 million in revenue.

February

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 0.6% in February, reaching $717.9 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during February, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 0.4%, coming in at $245.2 million; Paperbacks were up 2.5%, with $249.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 40.7% to $9.3 million; and Special Bindings were down 1.4%, with $16.6 million in revenue.

March

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were down 9.5% in March, reaching $661.2 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during March, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 14.4%, coming in at $219.2 million; Paperbacks were down 10.0%, with $242.6 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 39.6% to $8.2 million; and Special Bindings were down 24.0%, with $14.9 million in revenue.

Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.