With Amazon Prime Day scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, June 21 and 22, the American Booksellers Association is relaunching the #BoxedOut campaign that made its debut last fall.
The key parts of last fall's campaign--which began in mid-October, to coincide with Amazon Prime Days on October 14 and 15--were social media initiatives, posters and other material, as well as major #BoxedOut displays at indie bookstores. Several indie storefronts were covered with cardboard facades--meant to remind the public of Amazon brown boxes on porches and in lobbies across the country--displaying quotes such as "Don't box out bookstores" and "Books curated by a real person, not a creepy algorithm." #BoxedOut received widespread media coverage, including in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Associated Press and CNN, among others.
This year's campaign aims to emphasize, as the ABA put it, that "while the hopeful signs of a post-pandemic life are growing, many small businesses are still struggling to recover. And while the United States faced the worst economic crisis in almost a century, Amazon's operating income increased from $4.0 billion in Q1 2020 to $8.9 billion in Q1 2021, a 123% increase."
The ABA noted that by contrast, "more than one independent bookstore a week has closed during the pandemic. Others were able to survive and, in some cases, thrive through resilience, innovation, and community support. Bookstores launched virtual event series, FaceTime personalized shopping, and Facebook Live storytimes; started local delivery and subscription services; opened pop-up locations and shifted their businesses online; and offered community support through book drives, hotlines, food pantries, voter registration, COVID testing, antiracism resources, and more. Thirty-two independent bookstores have opened so far this year and thousands of readers are going to IndieBound.org and Bookshop.org every day to find their local bookstore. But bookstores, like many small businesses, are on precarious ground coming out of the pandemic: they are facing unprecedented expenses, supply chain disruption, and safety concerns continue, and in the weeks and months ahead they will be challenged by inflation, the labor shortage, and more uncertainty."
The ABA also noted the growing backlash against the power of Big Tech companies, including Amazon, that has bipartisan federal support. As the association recounted, "In the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, legislation has been introduced that would curb the monopoly power of Amazon and other dominant Big Tech corporations. District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine has launched an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon to end practices that have raised prices for shoppers, stifled innovation, and limited choice for consumers, and the Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, New York, and Washington State attorneys general are reported to be conducting investigations into potential antitrust violations by Amazon. And this week, the Biden Administration announced that the most prominent legal voice for effective antitrust enforcement in the 21st century--Lina Khan--has been appointed as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, the agency charged with enforcement of civil U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection."
ABA CEO Allison Hill recently stated, "This is a crucial moment in history. As the pandemic subsides and we return to the social spaces that bring us together, we will decide whether we want to be commoditized or recognized as individuals. Independent businesses all across the country add diversity, character, and humanity to our communities and they need our support. Without them, we're just another brown box."