Amazon's Irish domain is a ‘potential threat’ to Tipperary businesses, says local bookseller
John Butler of the Bookworm in Thurles says that Amazon.ie poses a concern to booksellers
The launch of Amazon.ie is a “threat” to Tipperary bookshops, according to one local bookstore owner.
John Butler owns and runs the Bookworm in Thurles, and says that despite Amazon being around for a while, the new Amazon.ie domain does pose a concern to local booksellers.
Speaking to the Tipperary Star, John said that the new Amazon.ie domain is a threat not just to bookshops, but to all small businesses.
“The fact that they’re opening in Ireland now is a big potential threat to not just booksellers, but to every small retailer selling anything that they sell because they’re promising shipping on the same day, and free shipping all over Ireland,” he said.
“We can’t discount that it is more of a threat now. But at the same time, we would hope that people would be conscious of the fact that local retailers are providing local employment, they are providing benefits to the local community in what they provide and that they would still support their local shops”.
The Tipperary bookshop owner said that since Brexit, customers bought less from Amazon in the UK due to fears over additional fees and charges.
“After Brexit, it did make it more awkward for Amazon from the UK because it had questions over customs and excise … it definitely did slow it down coming from the UK,” he said.
“Price comes into it, if price is all Amazon are selling on, that’s not necessarily always going to be the factor that influences the customer.
“If you’re browsing (for a book), the best place to browse is still on a bookshelf, browsing online is not very satisfactory, if you want to get a feel for what a book is like or read a couple of pages of it, or compare it to other books that you mightn’t be aware of, or look at a particular section, so there’s all of that,” John said.
“But it is a big threat, it’s a huge threat, they’re so vast in their power and in what they can do price-wise and the danger is that if Amazon do impact Irish retailers hugely, then what ends up happening is that you have less and less choice”.
Hoping that younger people will pick up the mantle and step away from predominantly online shopping, John said: “we hope that younger people are the ones are the ones who will decide and dictate the future of retail.”
Online book shopping can be “cold” according to John, with in-person shopping offering the “personal touch that we hope would set booksellers apart.”
“I think for small local shops, it’s the contribution to the local economy that they make as well, whether it’s in terms of employing local people, or sponsoring local events or local clubs or schools, and doing all kinds of connections with the local community, that Amazon has no interest in doing,” John said.
“But I think that if people remember that local retailers are part of their community, and I think they do know that, and they do value that”.
Aside from the threat posed by Amazon.ie, John says the cost of doing business is their main concern at the moment.
“It's the cost of doing business, it's just savage,” he said.
“It really kicked off with Covid, and then with the war in Ukraine, when energy prices started to go mad, and the cost of staying in business, whether paying energy bills or paying staff costs, and all the costs associated with staying in business and doing business have made it very difficult,” John said.
“Rates are a big concern for small businesses, because every year we're spending on things where you don't see a return for with rates.
“I'm not sure if the Government is showing much interest in supporting small businesses,” John added.
“Luckily, we did get support from the Local Enterprise Office (LEO), it is a great support, to have things like to improve our websites and all that, and especially since Covid since we weren't allowed to open, they did prioritise improving our websites and we did get financial supports from the LEO, and they're a great support,” John added.