With stores closed, local bookstores lean on online sales

Bookstores across the country have closed or are closing their doors to help slow the spread of COVID-19. For independent bookstores with tight margins, closure poses an obvious threat to business. 

Bookshop.org is an online platform that lately finds itself providing vital assistance to many brick-and-mortar independent bookstores. The platform helps local bookstores sell books online, allowing stores to continue to reach patrons digitally. Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, told “Marketplace” that the company has “seen a steady rise in book sales” and that stores are selling “about 800% of what they were selling a few weeks ago.”

While the increase in demand has put unprecedented strain on his small team, Hunter said that in the present economic moment he feels “pretty lucky”.