Bookshop.org to enter UK e-book and audiobook market

Bookshop.org has completed a $1.8m (£1.5m) fundraising round which will enable it to add audiobooks and e-books to its UK platform. The online retailer will also develop a mobile app for customers.

The company said the move would enable independent bookshops in the UK to offer audiobooks and e-books to their customers for the first time. It is planning to launch a private beta version of the service in late 2023, followed by a full launch in 2024.

Andy Rossiter, owner of Rossiter Books, said: “This market has been completely dominated by Amazon for years so to have it opened up to independent bookshops by a completely trusted partner is fantastic news. Hundreds of independents have already built a strong relationship with Bookshop.org, so together I’m certain that the offering will be intelligently tailored towards what our customers are looking for and will be a tremendous benefit to independent booksellers."

The platform will apply the same business model as its physical book sales, so UK bookshops will be able to keep the full profit margin of any e-books or audiobooks they sell. All other sales will generate 10% for the profit pool, which is shared equally among all participating bookshops.

Nicole Vanderbilt, managing director of Bookshop.org UK, said: “Independent bookshops in the UK have never had access to this market before, so Bookshop.org is proud to offer a great alternative for anyone who wants to purchase (and enjoy) e-books and audiobooks and support independent bookshops at the same time. One of our goals is to ensure indie bookshops thrive in the age of e-commerce, and creating new revenue streams for bookshops, while providing a viable alternative to Amazon, is precisely how we want to achieve this."

Emma Corfield-Walters, owner of Book-ish in Crickhowell, commented: "I know that many booksellers, including myself, have felt that independents are missing out on a big element of book sales, so to be able to finally benefit from this would be amazing and would in turn expose us to new customers and enable us to support our customers with visual impairment."

Ross Bradshaw, owner of Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham, added: “Five Leaves Bookshop regularly now gets asked for audiobooks, often by regular customers who want to order through us. If Bookshop.org can do this, it will be great addition to what we can offer."