Bookshop.org is an online book marketplace launched in January 2020. Its stated mission is "to financially support local, independent bookstores."[1]
 | |
| Industry | E-commerce |
|---|---|
| Founder | Andy Hunter |
Area served | United States and United Kingdom |
| Website | bookshop |
Bookshop, Inc., a privately held company, has been certified as a B Corporation.
History
Bookshop.org was founded by publisher Andy Hunter, who had previously co-founded Literary Hub and Electric Literature. Hunter started working on the idea in 2018.[2]
The American Booksellers Association endorsed the company in 2019.[3] As of February 2023, 70% of its members were affiliated with Bookshop.org.[4]
After launching the site in January 2020,[5][6] the business grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8]
On November 2, 2020 Bookshop.org opened a branch in the United Kingdom in partnership with wholesaler Gardners Books, which runs a similar profit sharing program with independent bookshops in that country.[9]
Since launch, the site has earned over $26 million for local stores and support has grown. In 2023, Bookshop.org has replaced IndieBound as the American Booksellers Association official platform for supporting independent, local bookstores when linking to books online.[4] As of 2023, Bookshop's booksales were about 1% of Amazon's, according to Hunter.[2] Hunter had set 1 or 2% of Amazon's sales as a goal as early as 2020.[3]
Model
Bookshop.org, conceived as a response to Amazon's industry dominance, offers an online storefront with the accessibility and convenience of Amazon and, by convincing media outlets that review and advertise books to link to Bookshop.org instead through higher commissions and emphasis on its mission, intercept potential Amazon customers.[10] Bookshop.org, operating on an affiliate marketing model, receives and fulfills orders for independent booksellers through its online storefront and returns 30% off the cover price to the bookseller. Bookshop.org lets authors, publishers, and reviewers also sign up as affiliates and take home 10%.[7] Any purchases made directly on Bookshop (through an affiliate store or not) see 10% of sales go into a pool to be split up among independent booksellers.[7]
In 2020, Bookshop started partnering with audiobook site Libro.fm to direct Bookshop customers looking for audiobooks to buy directly on Libro's website.[2]
In 2023, Bookshop started to publish works to be available exclusively through their website and independent bookstores.[2]
Reception
At launch, some independent booksellers and independent publishers expressed concern that Bookshop.org is, rather than benefiting them, a new long-term competitor in the publishing ecosystem.[11] Booksellers and publishers receive a smaller commission through Bookshop.org than if the customer bought directly from the bookseller.[12] Other booksellers and authors, however, praised the effort citing the desire to have an alternative to Amazon for buying books online that supported local bookstores.[13] Time Magazine wrote that the pandemic helped to silence some critics by providing support to independent booksellers when in-person shopping was not an option for many people.[3]
