Religious book sales declined 25.5 % in March for a total of $47.6 million. The decrease in the category, which was down 12.1% for the year to date, was revealed in the latest figures just released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), which saw a month overall decrease of 11% as sales saw an increase of 1.3% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was down by 25.9% in March with sales of $103.1 million and year-to-date sales were also down by 17.9%. Adult Paperback sales rose 6.2% for the month ($138.5 million); sales were up 23.1% for the year.

Revenues in the Adult Mass Market category declined by 10.9% for March with sales of $67.4 million, contributing toward an 0.9% increase year-to-date. Children's/Young Adult (YA) Hardcover sales saw an increase of 2.4% for the month with a total of $48.1 million, but sales year-to-date dropped by 4.8%.

The AAP also revealed that Children's/YA Paperback sales increased by 9.1% in March with sales totaling $51.3 million; sales were also up 12.8% for the year. Audiobook sales declined 44% for the month with sales totaling $11 million, and sales for the whole year were also down by 17.2%.

E-book sales posted an increase of 58.9% for March compared to last year's figures with sales totaling $4.4 million, and sales for the whole year were up by 35.7%.