Skip to main content

Bookshop.org enables independent bookstores to sell e-books

Bookshop.org e-book platform
Bookshop.org has a new e-book platform.

An online platform supporting independent bookstores is providing those retailers an important new digital capability.

Through the Bookshop.org e-book platform, independent bookstores can sell digital products and earn 100% of the profits from those sales. The platform, available online via any web browser and through Bookshop.org apps on Apple and Android, launches with a catalog of over three million e-books, including works from all major publishers. 

Readers have the ability to purchase and download ebooks from their preferred independent bookstores on the Bookshop.org app and site. Customers can directly support the bookstore of their choosing by ordering through Bookshop.org, ensuring the full profit goes to supporting that chosen store. 

Alternatively, profits from orders without a specified bookstore are distributed among all participating bookstores on the platform. The app also allows readers to share their favorite book moments on social media.

"When we launched Bookshop.org, the vision was to support local bookstores in their battle against Amazon and other online retailers," said Andy Hunter, CEO and founder of Bookshop.org. "This launch represents our commitment to bookstores and their communities. We're focused on keeping bookstores afloat and helping them flourish in the digital age."

Advertisement - article continues below
Advertisement

Launched in January 2020, Bookshop.org says it has raised more than $35 million for independent bookstores in the U.S. alone. As a certified B Corp, Bookshop.org allocates more than 80% of its profit margin to over 2,200 independent bookstores in the U.S.

"Many of our customers use e-books for their accessibility, especially for folks with low vision," said Cierra Cook, owner of Spoke & Word Books. "Having an alternative to Amazon is groundbreaking."

Bookshop.org is providing independent bookstores this new digital capability as an analysis of holiday shopper behavior from Nov. 24 to Dec. 28 from AI-based insights platform Pass_by indicates that brick-and-mortar bookstores are making something of a comeback

Bookstores were the top retail category during that period by spend (up 13.29%), with overall data showing holiday shoppers spending more during fewer visits to stores.

However, San Leandro, Calif.-based Books Inc., which operates 11 stores in the Bay Area and an e-commerce site, recently filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. 

[READ MORE: Bay Area book retailer Books Inc. files for Chapter 11; closing store]

Bookshop.org is a certified B Corp, carbon-neutral, mission-based business.

X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds