Amazon has found the solution to deliver its books for free in France

Free delivery, but under conditions. One year after the application of the law of December 30, 2021 on the book economy, and a decree on book shipping costs, aimed at putting the e-commerce giant back on an equal footing with independent bookstores, Amazon may have found the solution to slip through the cracks. This Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the company's French subsidiary announced that it would set up a new free delivery service on booksthanks to the installation of automated lockers. A detail that changes everything, and which could allow Prime subscribers to once again benefit from free delivery on their favorite new cultural items.

What does the decree say?

Home delivery subject to shipping costs on new books
€3 shipping costs for orders under €35
0.01€ shipping costs for orders over 35€

Lockers rather than home delivery

Mandatory shipping costs on new books only apply to home delivery. It is with this information in mind that Amazon has been working, for a year, to densify its network of lockers. Established since 2016 in France, Amazon delivery lockers have the advantage of guaranteeing simplified access to delivery people, as well as an even shorter time for certain deliveries. Indeed, the law on the economy of books provides that delivery of books must be chargeable, “unless the book is collected from a book retail store“. Concretely, the locker only needs to be placed in a bookstore, a press office, or the shopping arcades of supermarkets with a book section to be able to benefit from 0€ shipping costs.

While the law was rather intended to encourage French people to favor local shops to buy their books, Amazon's strategy rather intends to attack directly into enemy territory. In a press release, the company states: “For their book orders, customers can now choose free delivery in a vast network of more than 2,500 collection points throughout France. This option is available for a selection of collection points located in businesses selling books in particular.“.

A victory “for readers” welcomes the press release, but especially for Amazon, which intends to maximize its profits in the run-up to Christmas. Note that priority delivery to partner lockers is not the only one that can benefit from free delivery. For non-Prime customers, standard delivery is also affected.