US bookstores launch ‘Boxed Out’ campaign against Amazon

The American Booksellers Association has launched an advertising campaign against Amazon to alert the public to what it calls the growing danger that bookstores are under from the online goliath during the coronavirus pandemic.

The campaign, the first of its kind, was sparked by Amazon’s “Prime Day” on Tuesday and Wednesday, during which Amazon offers bargains on products.

Since the pandemic began, 35 bookstores belonging to the ABA have had to shut their doors for good, the association told AFP, adding that some 20 percent of independent bookstores are under threat of closure.

“When these independent bookstores close Covid will be listed as the cause of death, but the pre-existing condition for many may be listed as Amazon,” the association said in a statement.