Shein, the Singapore-based fast fashion and lifestyle online retailer, is making its first foray into bookselling through a partnership with Alibris. The used books retailer will offer more than 100,000 titles across a variety of genres, as well as "affordable textbooks," through Shein's U.S. marketplace, per an announcement.
The new collaboration comes just in time for the busy holiday shopping season and was "driven by growing demand from its community," particularly Gen Z shoppers, among whom analog media is making a comeback, Shein said in a statement.
In Shein's own survey of over 11,000 U.S. adults, one-third of respondents said they read books daily or weekly, highlighting a growing community of readers and underscoring a revival in print driven largely by Gen Z. Romance emerged as the top genre, followed by fantasy and mystery.
"This isn't a trend, it's a lifestyle," said George Chang, general manager and head of Shein Marketplace U.S. "We're excited to support our customers' love of reading and learning by teaming up with Alibris to offer a wide variety of books to our shoppers for the very first time." Shein also indicated it would grow its selection of Alibris titles in the months ahead.
As Gen Z becomes boom consumers, the generation's frequent library usage and patronage of comic book stores has hinted at a renewed interest in print media. Alibris, a pioneer of digital used bookselling, has remained largely under the radar for the past decade, as larger used book retailers stepped into the spotlight. Behind the scenes, Alibris has made partnerships with other retailers, including Barnes & Noble and Waterstones.
"We're thrilled to partner with Shein to bring our wide selection of books to a whole new audience of Gen Z and millennial readers," said Rob Lambert, VP of global sales and marketing at Alibris. "Together, we're making it more convenient than ever for readers to discover and access the books they want."
