Shopping Local in an Amazon World
A case for supporting indie bookstores on Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday, a day that was first created by American Express to encourage consumers to shop at their local small businesses, will be happening this upcoming Saturday, November 30th. Some of you may already have plans to support these small businesses in-person or from the comfort of your own home online. Some people or towns might even make a whole weekend out of supporting small businesses.
But I want to talk about indie bookstores for today’s post in honor of Small Business Saturday.
Whenever I can, I do my absolute best to support indie bookstores. I love window shopping at them, checking out the cute little displays and noticing the little nooks and crannies these stores have to offer. Seeing what kind of books make the shelves and what that might mean for the readers they serve.
I know there are other readers on here and in other online bookish spaces that love supporting indie bookstores. However, with the rapid near-monopolization Amazon has on the book industry, these stores need our help more than ever.
This is not a new conversation…
The conversation about indie bookstores’ survival has been going on for decades. First, it was indie bookstores vs. big chain bookstores. Now it’s indie bookstores (and whatever big chain bookstores are still in business) vs. Amazon. Yet, I do think that the conversations about indie bookstores really gained limelight when Covid happened.
You had people stuck in their homes with little to do meanwhile these bookstores are trying to stay afloat amidst an uncertain future and Amazon’s eerie presence in the background. You also had Bookshop.org, a Certified B Corp ecommerce website that brands itself as an Amazon alternative storefront for indie bookstores, is trying to reach the masses and highlight why these bookstores need to stick around, resulting in a million users visiting the site on a single day in Spring 2020.
Even after everything that went down with Covid and we returned to a semblance of normalcy, people are still talking about indie bookstores. Bookshop.org still rakes in millions of dollars every year to support the thousands of indie bookstores throughout the U.S. (as well as internationally) that rely on Bookshop.org as part of their ecommerce and/or financial support needs and readers continue to promote their favorite indie bookstores to their friends and family as well as in online bookish spaces.
Additionally, more and more indie bookstores have been opening in places across the countries even amidst declining sales numbers and emerging new types of bookstores, such as bookstore pop-ups and genre-specific bookstores, have been on the rise, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Why Indie Bookstores Matter
While they may not have the bulk of inventory that Amazon offers, the books that are shelved by indie booksellers are a mix of best sellers you can find at any store alongside hidden gems that the community needs. Some indie bookstores, including my go-to indie bookstore near me, have entire sections dedicated to local authors, which can be a huge boost for them.
Indie bookstores also provide services that Amazon cannot, such as personalized service to their patrons’ needs as well as being a hub for community building. Walk into any independent bookstore or look them up online and chances are good you’ll see some sort of staff picks displays, a list of book clubs offered by said bookstore, and advertisements for various events organized and/or hosted at said bookstore. By supporting indie bookstores, we’re supporting bookish third spaces that support the entire community and, as readers, we want to make sure that these spaces continue to exist to preserve a lifelong love of reading for everyone.
Epilogue
So, with Small Business Saturday coming up this week, I hope you take the time to support an indie bookstore near you. Visit them in-person, or buy from them online or through Bookshop.org if you can’t make it in-person. Whether you’re pre-ordering an anticipated release or buying your book club’s latest pick, you’ll be helping your own community while also supporting bookish third spaces.
I know I'm going to be visiting my go-to local bookstore, walking through the shelves and eyeing up the ARC cart to see what to grab after I make my purchase. I might also visit the other local bookstore near me, depending on how my day goes.
Nevertheless, I know I’ll be making a difference, and I hope you join me in doing the same.
