Bookshop.org is an online bookshop that promotes and financially supports local, indie booksellers. It was set up as a socially conscious alternative to Amazon and is B-Corp certified. The organisation which originated in the US has recently launched also in the UK.
It supports indie bookshops in two ways:
- partner stores who sell books via Bookshp.org earn a commission on the sales they generate
- 10% of all other transactions carried out via Bookshop goes to a pot which gets split evenly between all participating stores every 6 months
So what?
Similarly to the “Not Amazon” bookstore directory set up in Toronto, Canada, Bookshop.org is a response to a growing trend amongst socially conscious customers wanting to buy locally and support small businesses. It goes hand in hand with the increasing role of local communities, which grew in strength during the pandemic. Can it succeed as a new business model uniting small retailers to compete with retail giants?
See related signal: Welcome to “Not Amazon” local shopping website
https://www.hive.co.uk/ is also a similar site that started in the UK.
Amazing! Thanks so much for flagging. Looking forward to these initiatives helping to challenge the status quo