When ecommerce was new and people were still afraid to give out their credit card information online, Amazon lured shoppers with the slogan “Earth’s biggest bookstore” and the promise of cheap books delivered to their doorsteps.
At the time, the book industry was busy battling major booksellers; a 1997 Slate piece about Amazon’s early days was skeptical to say the least (“Earth’s Biggest Bookstore”? More like “Earth’s Smallest”).
But Amazon clawed its way to the top. When two-day delivery was too slow, Amazon in 2007 introduced its own Kindle ereaders and instantaneous downloads. By 2011, ebook sales surpassed print book sales for the first time on Amazon. We said farewell to Borders shortly thereafter, while Barnes & Noble has been closing about 15 stores a year for over a decade.
Five years ago, it seemed that Amazon had succeeded in doing what tech companies set out to do: disrupt a traditional industry. What it didn’t expect was for readers to resist. Brick-and-mortar bookstores that…