Contacts:
Margaret Bensfield, mbensfield@groupsjr.com, 212-751-3476
San Francisco, Calif. (January 5, 2009) – Better World Books released overwhelmingly positive holiday sales and traffic numbers today, proving that conscious consumerism is alive and thriving – that is at least, when the price is right and the cause is good.
The socially-conscious online bookseller, whose used inventory comes from thousands of library and campus book drives and whose revenues are shared with literacy programs worldwide, attracted holiday book shoppers in droves with its signature affordable prices and free shipping.
Overall traffic to the site increased 131% during the holiday rush, and revenue for the site was up 194% for pre-Christmas December 2008 compared to December 2007. What’s more, Better World saw a 500%+ increase in gift certificate sales over the previous holiday season. As always, U.S. customers received free shipping on all orders, as well as carbon offsetting through CarbonFund.org.
“Our Five Used Books for $15 Sale drove significant holiday sales – not surprising given you couldn’t even buy one new hardback from a brick-and-mortar retailer for that price,” said Better World Books co-founder Xavier Helgesen. “Looks like more and more shoppers are opting for used books over new, and we’re glad to be able to meet demand for that cost-conscious and socially responsible book buyer.”
Through its innovative social capital business model, Better World Books has:
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About Better World Books
Better World Books (www.BetterWorld.com) is a for-profit social enterprise that collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than two million new and used titles in stock, Better World Books is a self-sustaining company that balances the social, economic and environmental values of its stakeholders.