Introduction
British people are famous all around the world for their love of books. If you have ever travelled British rail, you may have got the feeling that you are sitting in a strange library; this is still true even in this ever-changing technological world. But where do you buy books in the UK? Here is a list of some of the main UK booksellers.
1. Major UK Book Chains
Railway stations, airports, motor way service areas, and major urban areas are the strongholds of major chains of bookstores in the UK.
(a) Waterstones
Waterstones is not only a trusted name when it comes to High Street bookstores but also a leading online bookstore in the United Kingdom. With more than 300 stores in the British territory, Waterstones saw phenomenal growth in less than three decades.
The largest store of Waterstones holds some 200,000 books, while an average-sized Waterstones bookstore has about 30,000 titles.
The online store at www.waterstones.com is currently offering free UK delivery on all orders. Two shipping options are available, Complete and Immediate.
With the Complete shipping option, you will have to wait for all your ordered items to be available and they will be shipped in one delivery; with Immediate (a bit more expensive), your item will be dispatched as soon as it becomes available.
Waterstones offers discounts for selected books. Aesthetics are given equal consideration by store management. For this reason, you will find one of the best environments to browse your favourite books in the store. Waterstones currently offers more than 500 titles in the English Learning category.
(b) WHSmith
WHSmith is an authentic bookseller in Great Britain. With more than 500 High Street bookstores, WHSmith promises to be available even in the remotest places in the United Kingdom. The UK bookstore not only dominates the High Streets but also has more than 120 bookstores at train stations, motorway areas, and airports. WHSmith ensures its presence in all the major public places.
The vibrant online store at www.WHSmith.co.uk has all the latest offerings. The online bookstore has a tremendous range of books, with more than 2 million titles.
Special discounts are announced regularly to attract customers. Free Saver delivery options are available for customers for orders over £15; delivery usually takes 3 to 5 working days. First Class delivery is relatively quick — it takes only 1 or 2 working days — but customers have to pay additionally to avail this service. With more than 800 titles for English Learning, WHSmith is a very helpful resource for eager learners.
2. UK Department Stores
Department stores in the UK sell mainly food and other general products; but, in recent times, a positive trend of book corners has emerged. In these department stores, you can buy your favourite book along with other household items, which saves the shopper time.
(a) Tesco Book Store
Tesco is the largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. The main focus of the Tesco supermarket is on food and household items; but, steadily, Tesco has grown into selling high volumes of books as well.
Tesco superstores now have a well-established book section that displays popular books, ranging from fiction works to educational books. The online store at www.tesco.com/books/ provides thousands of titles that take only a couple of days to be delivered to your doorstep. The books are organized in a way that locating a particular book doesn’t take much time. Delivery is free within UK if you purchase books over £15. Tesco offers more than 350 titles for customers who are interested in English Learning.
(b) ASDA Books
Asda is a renowned British supermarket chain. Apart from an extensive variety of food, clothes, and general products, Asda stores have a special section for books.
In 1999, Asda became a subsidiary of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart. Since then, Asda has seen phenomenal growth and the books sections have received more attention.
Asda’s marketing promotions rely on price and you will be surprised to find many quality books at highly discounted rates. Although Asda stores display a limited range of books, their online store at http://www.asda-entertainment.co.uk/books.dept offers a wide range of books. The books are usually dispatched within 2 working days.
3. UK Bookstores With Online Presence
(a) British Book Shops & Stationers
British Bookshops & Stationers is primarily an online bookstore with more than 42 stores in the South of England. The company has earned a brand value because they have been in this field for more than 70 years.
Rather than opening more physical bookstores, British Book Shops & Stationers have opted for the latest technology and have opened a superb online store at www.britishbookshops.co.uk.
With free delivery throughout the UK, British Book Shops & Stationers has price advantages. The online catalogue is well-designed and the store keeps all the latest books to the capture attention of online customers. A staggering number of 2.8 million books are listed online in their store, which makes British Book Shops & Stationers a reliable name among British online book stores.
(b) Foyles
Foyles is primarily known as a world-renowned bookshop at Charing Cross Road, London. It once held a strong position in the Guinness Book of Records because the bookshop had the largest shelf area of approximately 50 KM. You can imagine the number of titles it holds in this astoundingly large area.
Now, Foyles is a well-known London-based book store that has more branches at Royal Festival Hall, St Pancras railway station, and Westfield. The online store at http://www.foyles.co.uk holds around 1.2 million titles. You can find all the titles that are published by UK publishers from Foyles’ online store.
Foyles gives full advantage of lower online prices as compared to in-store prices. Foyles Standard Offer provides free postage and packaging on all UK orders over £10. Foyles holds hundreds of titles for customers interested in learning English.
(c) BlackWell
Blackwell has the honour of being the very first bookstore to have an online store in the United Kingdom, back in 1995. A decade ago, Blackwell used to offer more than 150,000 titles, and the number of books has since seen phenomenal growth.
As well as its vibrant online store at http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/, Blackwell has more than 50 shops in the UK. In 2007, Blackwell won the Best Retail Chain award, which tells us how passionate Blackwell is about their work.
Blackwell’s flagship shops are in Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Charing Cross London, and Edinburgh. One of the interesting aspects of Blackwell shops is their proximity to university campuses, which makes Blackwell a fairly well-known name in academic circles.
4. Online-Only UK Bookstores
Because online bookstores don't have the same overheads of traditional
bricks and mortar businesses, UK online bookstores can provide cheap
rates to their customers, especially if they offer free delivery.
(a) Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk is a subsidiary of Amazon.com. Amazon.co.uk was launched in 1998.
Today, Amazon.co.uk provides fast, convenient service for customers in the UK, Ireland, and overseas. Amazon.co.uk offers many of the same customer features as Amazon.com, such as personalized recommendations and wishlists.
Amazon.co.uk lists many thousands of books about learning and improving English.
(b) The Book Depository
The Book Depository has a website at www.bookdepository.co.uk.
The Book Depository is the UK's largest dedicated online bookseller, founded in 2004.
The Book Depository's mission is to make "All Books To All". The UK online bookstore's point of difference is to sell "less of more" rather than "more of less", differentiating themselves from other retailers who focus on bestsellers.
As at August 2010, The Book Depository has more than 2.5 million unique titles. The bookstore can dispatch items within 48 hours of ordering, from their fulfillment centre in Gloucester in the UK.
The Book Depository is an international bookseller. Uniquely, The Book Depository ships its books free of charge, worldwide, to nearly 90 countries.
(c) PickABook
Pickabook Limited is a well-known online bookstore in the United Kingdom. This online bookstore has served the needs of avid readers for more than a decade now. PickABook’s mission is to bring books to the consumer at cheap rates.
The bookstore’s website, www.pickabook.co.uk/, is said to have access to more than 5 million new books in stock. Discounts are available for almost every book. Exciting offers are announced periodically to gain more customers. Free UK delivery is offered on orders over £15.