According to The Guardian, a newspaper based in the United Kingdom, Bookshop is a socially conscious alternative to Amazon that allows readers to buy books online while supporting their local independent bookseller.
Bookshop was founded by writer and co-founder of Literary Hub, Andy Hunter. It allows independent bookshops to create their own virtual shopfront on the site, with the stores receiving the full profit from each sale. Customer service and shipping are handled by Bookshop and its distribution partners.
Launched in 2020 with 88 bookshops, by the end of that year they had grown to over 1,000 and raised over ten million dollars for the affiliated bookstores. Hunter believes the reason for Bookshop’s quick success is readers’ fondness for their local booksellers. “Bookstores have been in trouble for a while because of Amazon’s growth, but the pandemic really accelerated it. Amazon has gotten much more powerful, while there are 100-year-old stores that are hanging on for survival,” he said. “I think we were so successful because enough people were conscious of that, and wanted to rally around their beloved bookstores.”