£1m Milestone on Bookshop.org

We're making headlines today! Well, not just us....

The Book Well is one of 410 Indie Bookshops to Share £1m Profit Generated on Bookshop.org as Booksellers Continue to Fight Back in the Pandemic

• 200,000 customers flock to ethical ecommerce platform, as book buyers vote with their wallets to support the high street while shopping online
• Independent booksellers report that Bookshop.org has helped them avoid putting staff on furlough, attract new customers, build an online presence, feel connected to their customer community and even open new stores

We are one of 410 independent bookshops to share in the £1million profit generated in just four months by Bookshop (www.Bookshop.org), the book buying site that empowers socially conscious shoppers to financially support independent bookshops when shopping online.

At a time when the majority of the UK’s bookshops have been forced to close their physical stores due to lockdown restrictions, by choosing Bookshop.org book-buyers have generated over £1million in profit for the independent bookshops using the platform.

We signed up to Bookshop.org in November as an extra window to our website. As well as listing some popular Christian books and Bibles, we included lists of bestselling books by Irish writers, as well as some personal recommendations from us and our kids!

As of 4 February 2021, 82 per cent of sales on Bookshop were generated by titles selling four or less copies each, and 54 per cent from titles selling a single copy, demonstrating how the platform helps draw attention to books beyond bestseller lists and celebrates diversity within the publishing ecosystem.

Booksellers using the platform have reported the many ways in which Bookshop.org has been a financial lifeline in a particularly challenging time, with the additional income allowing many to avoid furloughing staff, pay out Christmas bonuses, strengthen their online presence to better compete online, and even open new stores.

Bookshop.org offers an ethical online marketplace that ensures independent bookshops receive 30 per cent of the cover price from each sale they generate on the platform. Moreover, 10 per cent from any sale not attributed to a specific bookshop goes into the shared profit pool. In addition, a number of publishers – including Canongate, Atlantic, Murdoch, Profile, Serpent's Tail, Faber, Pushkin Press, Scribe, Nosy Crow, Simon & Schuster, Pan Macmillan, PRH, Hachette, Usborne and Europa Editions – have chosen to forego their 10 per cent affiliate commission and opted for it to go into the shared profit pool, to be split equally by independent bookshops using the site.

Bookshop was founded with the belief that independent bookshops are vital to our culture. As consumers are increasingly realising that where they spend their money matters, Bookshop.org offers an entirely new approach to online shopping, giving customers the power to support the local high street when they buy books online.

Highlighting recommendations from real booksellers, authors, publishers and beyond, Bookshop.org takes a human approach to book curation that avoids relying on algorithms, reflecting the unique browsing experience of a physical bookshop. Authors who have supported the platform by curating reading lists have often increased sales of the books featured, including: Elena Ferrante, Malorie Blackman, Marian Keyes, Nikesh Shukla, Julia Quinn, Edmund de Waal, and more.

About Bookshop

Bookshop is an online bookselling platform and affiliate network with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and literary culture.

Bookshop.org first launched in the USA in January 2020 and has already raised over $10m for independent bookshops in the States. Bookshop.org launched in the UK in November 2020, and currently has over 410 independent bookshops and over 6000 affiliates using the platform.

Independent bookshops receive 30 percent of the cover price from each sale they generate on the platform. Books are offered to consumers at a small discount, and in stock books are delivered within 2-3 days.

For more about Bookshop, please see www.bookshop.org or at Twitter @Bookshop_org_UK, Instagram @Bookshop_org_UK and Facebook @BookshopOrgUK