With the goal of making it easy for readers to buy e-books through indie bookstores, the American Booksellers Association and Hummingbird Digital Media have entered a non-exclusive partnership under which Hummingbird will appear on ABA's IndieCommerce and IndieLite programs and offer a "Buy the eBook" button next the "Buy the Book" button on bookstores' title pages.
Hummingbird supplies the shopping cart and fulfillment via a store co-branded white label site, and the company collects and remits sales tax in all applicable states. Hummingbird will also provide a link back from the white label site to the referring store for purchase of the print book. Booksellers get a branded storefront and a branded app that mirrors what has been placed on the bookseller's storefront.
More than 75 ABA member stores are currently selling e-books through Hummingbird, and Hummingbird will be added to the list of ABA Marketplace Partners, which include other e-book and digital audiobook vendors.
ABA CEO Oren Teicher commented: "ABA is always interested in providing a selection of options for readers and book buyers to purchase digital titles from independent bookstores. We are pleased to have this new partnership with Hummingbird, which gives ABA member bookstores an additional choice for offering e-books to their customers."
Josh Mettee, co-founder of Hummingbird and a 25-year veteran of the book industry, pointed out: "Bookstores without an effective way to capture their existing customers' e-book business are subtly sending their customers to their major online competitor's program for e-book purchases. Besides missing revenue, there is the danger that the bookstore's loyal customers may be lured into buying print books from that competitor as well. Hummingbird is dedicated to working with independent bookstores in order to help them receive their fair share of the e-book market."
Mettee co-founded Hummingbird in 2015 with the aim of "democratizing e-book and audiobook retailing" by supplying organizations--including bookstores, publishers, nonprofits and others--free turnkey platforms for selling digital books.