Personal Finance Book Sales Are on the Rise, The NPD Group Says

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rising sales of personal financial books in the United States that began in 2017 have accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. Unit sales of books about personal finance have increased 4 percent for the year to date and have increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 percent over the past five years, according to The NPD Group (http://www.npd.com).

"We first noted the upward finance books sales trend in 2019, driven by a growing interest in the financial-independence-retire-early movement among younger generations, even as the economy was doing well," said Kristen McLean, books industry analyst for NPD. "However, after COVID-19 hit the U.S., the need became less about lifestyle considerations and more about necessity, as economic insecurity, stimulus checks, and unemployment benefits drove the personal savings rate upward. We expect this category to remain strong into 2021 as economic security continues to be top-of-mind."

NPD BookScan data reveals personal finance book subject growth was led by personal investing (up 43 percent), personal retirement planning (up 21 percent), and personal money management (up 9 percent). Top-selling authors include Dave Ramsey, whose "Total Money Makeover" has sold 1.5 million units since it was first published in 2013. Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad" was the leading personal finance book of 2020, selling 192,000 copies this year.

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About NPD BookScan
NPD BookScan is the gold standard in point-of-sale tracking for the publishing market, covering approximately 85 percent of all the print books sold in the U.S. through direct reporting from all major retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target, independent bookstores, and many others. Each sale of the more than 13 million units tracked on a weekly basis includes geographic information making it possible to identify key markets, map regional sales trends, and index the likelihood of purchase in 200 major metro areas. NPD BookScan is also the exclusive provider of ALR data for Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and Sam's Club to U.S. publishers.

NPD PubTrack Digital offers a comprehensive view of today's digital book market. Featuring information from more than 450 participants, including small, medium, and large U.S. publishers, this service provides unprecedented access to the top 80 percent of the traditionally published e-book market.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
NPD offers data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics to help our clients grow their businesses in a changing world. Over 2,000 companies worldwide rely on us to help them measure, predict, and improve performance across all channels, including brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. We have offices in 27 cities worldwide, with operations spanning the Americas, Europe, and APAC. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, books, B2B technology, consumer technology, e-commerce, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, juvenile products, media entertainment, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, toys, video games, and watches. For more information, visit npd.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdgroup @npdbooks.

SOURCE The NPD Group