Bookshop.org’s CEO on Taking the Fight to Amazon With eBooks

In a world where eBooks are gaining popularity, traditional bookstores face an uphill battle to stay relevant. While Amazon continues to dominate the digital book market, independent bookstores have struggled to adapt to the shift.

But one company is determined to change the narrative.

Bookshop.org, an online platform that has long championed local bookstores, is making a bold move to help them thrive in the digital age. By expanding into eBooks, Bookshop.org is providing a much-needed lifeline to independent bookstores, ensuring they can compete and grow alongside the digital revolution.

Eager to Compete

In an interview with PYMNTS, Bookshop.org Founder and CEO Andy Hunter said his company can now successfully compete with Amazon in the eBook market by offering similarly priced books, supporting independent bookstores, and providing a more personalized, community-driven experience through human-curated recommendations and social media integration.

“One out of every six books sold in the U.S. is an eBook and, up until now, there has been no way to buy one from your local bookstore,” Hunter explained. “Bookshop.org’s mission is to support local bookstores in the age of eCommerce, and adding eBooks as a revenue stream is going to have a profound impact on their sustainability. The U.S. eBook market is estimated to be $2.4 billion, so if independent bookstores capture just 5% of that, it will be a game-changer.”

Hunter’s vision for Bookshop.org’s eBook expansion is to carve out a space for independent bookstores in a market currently dominated by Amazon. But with the eBook landscape so heavily controlled by giants like Kindle, how can a platform rooted in supporting local bookstores compete?

“The two advantages that Amazon has in book retail don’t apply to eBooks,” Hunter explained. “Publishers set the price for most eBooks and discounting is not allowed, so Amazon cannot cut prices to compete. The delivery speed for eBooks is the same if you buy them on Bookshop.org or Amazon — instantaneous.”

So the question is, he added, what reason do you have to buy them from Bookshop.org?

“Readers, writers and publishers all benefit from a diverse market for books,” Hunter noted. “If you buy your eBook from Bookshop.org, you’re supporting local businesses and helping to ensure we live in a world where bookstores continue to exist, and bookstores are amazing places that foster reading, culture and community.”

Amazon has an advantage in hardware, Hunter said, “as so many people own Kindles, and some consumers are locked in with large eBook libraries with Amazon. Those advantages will erode with time. Our app is compatible with the new generation of Android e-ink devices.”

While Amazon’s dominance in hardware and large eBook libraries may seem like a barrier, Hunter believes those advantages will diminish as new technologies emerge.

Bring eBooks Out of the ‘Walled Garden’

“We want to break eBooks out of the walled garden Amazon has built around them and bring eBooks into conversation with the social web,” he explained. “Readers should be able to easily share quotes, and people should just be able to click, buy, and start reading on whatever device they’re on. The simple feedback loop that has powered content on the internet could be so powerful for books.”

As social engagement increases, “the other way we create community is by being fully human-curated. That may be a shocker in the age of algorithms and AI. But guess what? Most people buy books because someone they care about recommends them. No one cares about an algorithm or an AI chatbot. We’re here to support human booksellers, and who better to recommend a book to you?”

This approach is especially appealing to zillennials, who were born between 1991 and 1999 and are deeply influenced by social media when shopping.

According to a PYMNTS Intelligence report, “How Social Media Drives Zillennials’ Purchases,” more than 40% make purchases based on online recommendations. Social media tips from friends or family sway 72% of them, with more impressionable individuals showing even higher influence at 81%. This trend indicates brands should prioritize trusted social media influencers over traditional advertisements to engage with this demographic.

This focus on community and personalization is not just about competing with industry giants, Hunter added. It’s about ensuring the survival and growth of independent bookstores in a digital-first world.

“The U.S. online book sales market is estimated to be $10 billion,” he explained. “Independent bookstores have captured about 1% of it, yet in physical retail, they’re about 15% of all book sales. If local bookstores were to grow from 1% to just 5% of online book sales, we’d see a huge renaissance in the industry. Offering eBooks is a huge part of that. You don’t want to tell your loyal customers that if they need an eBook, they have to go to Amazon. That makes no sense. It needs to be easy to support local bookstores when you shop online, no matter what your preferred format, and that’s what we’re enabling.”

Hunter’s vision for the future of independent bookstores extends beyond increasing their share of the online book sales market. By expanding into eBooks, he said Bookshop.org wants to bridge the gap between digital and physical formats, making it easier for readers to support local stores no matter how they shop.

“eBooks will be another format available to our customers on Bookshop.org, but that’s not the only place you’ll be able to buy them,” he added. “Our platform will easily integrate with stand-alone bookstore websites, so they can offer eBooks directly to customers on their own sites. This will vastly increase the opportunities for local stores to earn revenue from eBook sales.

“Phase 1 is to build a great reading experience in our app and make it easy for readers to switch from Kindle to supporting their local bookstores. Phase 2 is considering all the cool ways authors and fans can use a digital platform to communicate with each other and how eBooks can evolve to engage readers in exciting new ways.”