UK print book sales slipped again in 2025, Nielsen reports
NielsenIQ BookScan data show UK print book spending down 0.5% and volume down 2.5% in 2025, with fiction again the strongest sector.
NielsenIQ BookData published its review of the UK and Irish print book markets in 2025 on 12 January 2026. Its BookScan Total Consumer Market data, covering the year to 27 December 2025, show UK spending on print books down 0.5% and the number of books bought down 2.5% compared with 2024.
Adult fiction was again the best-performing sector, up 5% in value and 0.2% in volume. Adult non-fiction fell 5% in value and 6% in volume. Children's, young adult and educational books rose 0.4% in value while falling 1% in volume.
Several categories reached record value sales, including science fiction and fantasy, horror and ghost stories, and manga and superhero graphic novels. The UK's bestselling title was Richard Osman's The Impossible Fortune.
Why it matters: this is the second year running of a slight fall in the UK print market, with spending falling less than the number of books sold. Non-fiction remains under pressure. Small publishers may want to watch price points and print quantities closely, and genre fiction continues to hold up best.
Source: NielsenIQ: Bestsellers and trends in the UK and Ireland in 2025.