Waterstone's goes it alone

Bookseller ends Amazon.co.uk deal and launches its own site with new customer friendly features

Bookseller Waterstone’s relaunched its web site today following an announcement in May that it would sever its five-year co-branding relationship with Amazon.co.uk.

Waterstone’s said that the site would offer a lot more bespoke services, such as book recommendations, and would also let users check to see whether their local store has what they want in stock. Books can be ordered for collection at high street stores, and customers can also use the site to arrange for unwanted items to be returned free of charge. Other features include the ability to ask Waterstone's staff for their opinion on a book, or for reading recommendations.

Waterstone's is one of Amazon's first high-profile defections, but other retailers are still happy to align themselves with the internet giant. Just last month online reseller Excite IT became one of the first channel ICT firms to sign a deal with Amazon.

Last month, it was reported in the US that Amazon.com had seen its availability online fall from its usual 98-99 percent to about 70 percent in mid-september. The knock-on effects of the associated infrastructure problems were felt by Target and Borders, two of the retailers that share its platform.