NPD BookScan, which tracks around 85 percent of physical sales, reported big drops in children’s fiction and adult nonfiction books. The biggest gains were in nonfiction books for kids, notably workbooks purchased by parents whose children are now home from schools that have been closed.
One would have hoped to see an increase in book sales as people stocked up on reading material in preparation for any increase in available time. Alas…
I expect all non-essential purchases are dropping right now as people respond to necessity and uncertainty. I think we might expect an increase in E-book sales as things settle down.