New online bookshop unites local independent businesses to take on Amazon

If you want to support local businesses this Christmas then this new online bookshop is the perfect place to get started.

Bookshop was created as a way of uniting independent sellers so they can take on Amazon, supporting small businesses along the way.

More than 150 independent retailers have already signed up to the online store, with Bookshop predicting that figure to reach over 200 by the end of the year.

Each bookshop that signs up will have a personalised shopfront online, and people can browse books in a similar way to how they would in a real shop.

And several Greater Manchester sellers have signed up already, including Chorlton Bookshop, Stockport’s Simply Books and Urmston Bookshop.

Bookshop has raised £5.8m for independent shops in the US so far, after it first launched there in January, and since opening in the UK yesterday it had already raised more than £11,000 for small retailers in less than a day.

Andy Hunter, Bookshop founder and chief executive, said: “Bookshops are essential to a healthy culture, and online sales are vital to safeguarding their future.

“Covid-19 has added further urgency to the need for bookshops to compete for online sales.”

You can check out Bookshop here.