Bookshop.org UK ebooks

The problem

Independents had no viable route into ebooks, conceding the format – and with it a growing share of all reading – almost entirely to Amazon and Kobo.

The solution

Any participating independent sells ebooks through its own Bookshop.org storefront and keeps 100% of the profit. Customers can nominate a shop; unattributed orders are pooled and split across participants. Reading happens in the browser or in the Bookshop.org apps.

What is distinctive

Shared infrastructure rather than shop-by-shop technology. No individual independent could have built this, and none had to.

Evidence

• UK ebook platform launched in autumn 2025 with a catalogue of more than 1 million ebooks; audiobooks announced for 2026.
• Bookshop.org reported 570 participating UK shops and £3 million generated for independents as of August 2023 – figures that predate the ebook launch and are due an update.
• UK ebook market context: £298 million (Publishers Association).

Compiled from public sources, August 2026. Not yet reviewed by the organisation.