Bookshop.org takes on Amazon with new ebook reader app

Bookshop.org, the indie bookstore-friendly platform that launched in 2020, is expanding into ebooks with its ebook reader app for iOS, Android and the web, challenging Amazon’s dominance in the industry.

The ebook reader has over 1 million titles, including works from the “Big Five” publishers—Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster and Macmillan—and several indie publishers.

Bookshop plans to support self-published authors soon. Since its inception, the platform has made $35 million for indie bookstores.

One standout feature of the app is that users can share any ebook quote on social media, allowing others to buy from a local bookstore of their choice and start reading instantly.

Bookshop prides itself on supporting indie bookstores, offering them a part of the list price. Now, when customers purchase digital books, 100% of the profits will go to small shops of their choice.

Despite these efforts, Amazon, with its Kindle, still holds a commanding 75% share of the ebook market. 

Bookshop founder and CEO Andy Hunter has criticized Amazon’s monopoly, claiming it stifles innovation. He plans on making the ebooks Kindle-compatible but suspects legal resistance from the e-commerce giant.