UK print book market dipped slightly in 2024, Nielsen data shows
NielsenIQ BookScan data show UK print book sales fell 0.6% in value and 1.7% in volume in 2024, while adult fiction grew.
NielsenIQ BookData published its review of the UK and Irish print book markets in 2024 on 9 January 2025. Its BookScan Total Consumer Market data, covering the year to 28 December 2024, show UK print sales down 0.6% in value and 1.7% in volume compared with 2023.
Adult fiction was the strongest sector, with value up 10% and volume up 6%. Romance and sagas, historical and mythological fiction, and science fiction and fantasy all reached record value sales. Adult non-fiction fell 6% in value and 7% in volume, and children's, young adult and educational books fell 0.8% in value and 7% in volume.
The UK's bestselling title of the year was Richard Osman's We Solve Murders.
Why it matters: a flat print market with strong genre fiction and weaker non-fiction affects what bookshops stock and what publishers commission. For small presses, particularly those working in non-fiction, it points to a harder retail environment in which careful print runs and pricing matter.
Source: NielsenIQ: Bestsellers and trends in the UK and Ireland in 2024.