Consumers Spend $5.3 billion On Trade Books In First Half 2002, Up 3% From 2001

Uniondale, NY, September 4, 2002 - Consumers purchased 557 million trade books between January and June 2002, up 1.6% from the prior year, according to Ipsos BookTrends^SM, an ongoing tracking service from market information provider Ipsos-NPD.

The survey of more than 12,000 nationally representative households found that consumers spent an estimated $5.3 billion on books intended for teens and adults in the first six months of 2002, compared to $5.2 billion in 2001. Following a soft winter quarter, the trade book industry recovered in the spring quarter, the survey found.

"Retailers offering value appear to have fared best so far in 2002. Used bookstores and mass merchandisers, in particular, have been able to attract budget conscious book buyers," said Barrie Rappaport, spokesperson for Ipsos BookTrends. Additionally, consumers continue to purchase a growing number of books over the Internet, perhaps taking advantage of the free shipping offered on some sites.

BOOKS PURCHASED BY OUTLET Percentage of Books Purchased in the U.S. Base: Purchased for someone 14+ years old; excludes Children's Books

160	January - June
Channel Share	2001	2002
Bookstores	35.7%	35.8%
Book Clubs	22.1%	19.6%
Internet	7.5%	8.4%
Warehouse Clubs	6.8%	6.9%
Mass Merchandisers	4.7%	5.9%
Mail Order	3.3%	2.8%
Used Bookstores	3.1%	5.0%
Food/Drug Stores	3.0%	3.3%
All Other	13.8%	12.3%

Bookstores fared well with increased buying based on book reviews. Movie/TV-tie ins also supported the channel's unit gains. Recommendations and price drove the gains within the Internet channel. Book clubs have struggled though mid-year. A book's price or recommendations failed to prompt the same proportion of purchases compared to the first six months of last year.

Used Books Popular with Consumers

Ipsos-NPD began monitoring the used book business, beginning in April of this year, and plans to monitor demand for "new vs. used" books on an ongoing basis. Said Rappaport: "Used book buying is not restricted to used bookstores - as Amazon.com has shown. In fact, previously owned books accounted for nearly 15% of all trade books bought in April, May and June of this year. Other than in used bookstores, consumers were most likely to buy used books from an independent bookseller or an online retailer."

About the study

Ipsos BookTrends has been tracking the book industry and providing consumer-purchasing information for nearly 20 years. Reports are compiled from information gathered from a panel of 12,000 nationally representative households who maintain daily purchase diaries for Ipsos-NPD. For related research, please visit http://www.ipsos-npd.com/books.cfm.

For more information on this release, please contact: Barrie Rappaport Ipsos BookTrends at 847-692-1764

Ipsos BookTrends is a service mark of Ipsos-NPD, Inc.

About Ipsos-NPD

Ipsos-NPD, a member of the Ipsos Group of research-based companies, provides marketers in a wide range of industries with custom research tools to successfully introduce new products and services plus create growth among existing brands and services. The firm's proprietary research methodologies have been validated over time and are relied upon by some of the world's most successful companies. Ipsos-NPD also offers access to U.S.-based and Canada-based consumer panels for custom and tracking research through syndicated and proprietary panels via mail or phone and access to the NPD Online Panel for surveys on the Web.