In the midst of a wildly gyrating economy and continued changes in the retail environment, the sale of Bibles remains a backbone of stability for Christian retail stores, according to Christian Retailing's latest Vital Signs industry survey.

Bibles accounted for 11%-20% of total sales in nearly half the stores responding to the survey (47%). That share has held steady for most stores since the last time we asked the question in 2007, but although the numbers have stayed the same, the way stores are selling Bibles continues to change.

One in three stores (32%) reported increased Bibles sales in the last two years, while 27% said their Bible sales were down. Broken down by the type of store: 38% of church-based stores posted increased Bible sales, compared to 29% of for-profit stores that saw Bible sales go up.

The New International Version (NIV) was the best-selling translation in 49% of stores and in the top four at 90%. The King James Version (KJV) sold best in 22% of stores and was in the top four at 75%. The New King James Version (NKJV) was the best-selling translation in 8% of stores, while 3% named the New Living Translation (NLT) as their best-selling version. No other translations achieved best-seller status in a statistically significant number of stores.

Read the complete report in the February issue of Christian Retailing magazine.

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