Charity shops are expecting a boom in business when they are allowed to reopen as lockdown restrictions ease, following the loss of millions of pounds of revenue since last March.
“We’re anticipating very strong trading when we open up,” Robin Osterley of the Charity Retail Association (CRA) told the Observer. The boom will be driven by two factors, he said: a surge in donations as people seek to offload unwanted Christmas gifts, and the impact of job losses and falling incomes, forcing people to cut household spending. “Unfortunately this group is likely to increase,” he said.
In a normal year, charity shops take £1.4bn in revenue, with about £330m in profit for parent charities. “It’s the quickest way of injecting cash into a charity, and a vital source of ‘unrestricted income’, which means it can be spent on anything,” said Osterley. “We’ve lost a huge chunk of that over the past 10 months. Every month that shops have been closed, UK charities have lost £28m.”
Sue Ryder, which has 450 UK shops, is losing £2m a month, and has had to permanently close 39 branches. “We are experiencing a very concerning drop in funds which is clearly not sustainablein the long term,” said a spokesperson.
Barnardo’s is losing £8,000 a month from its 665 shops. The November and current lockdowns “have come at times that are normally very busy for us, and have significantly impacted our ability to generate much-needed income to support vulnerable children and young people,” said David Longmore, the charity’s head of retail operations.
Even when shops were allowed to reopen last summer, many charities faced staffing problems. Last January about 23,000 people had paid jobs in charity shops, with 10 times that number – approaching a quarter of a million people – volunteering, according to the CRA.
“Probably between a third and a half of those volunteers were unable to come back because they were vulnerable or shielding, or lived with people who were, or didn’t want to use public transport,” said Osterley.
“It has been quite a significant issue for members, although we have also seen a new breed of volunteer during the pandemic – people who’ve been furloughed or who have lost their jobs and are keen to do something useful.”
Oxfam is hoping for a post-lockdown boost after losing £5m in revenue each month its almost 600 shops have been closed. “After an incredibly tough year, we are optimistic about the longer term future once we can keep shops open again,” said Peter Haden, its chief supporter officer.
The charity has expanded its online sales of secondhand goods since the start of the pandemic. Shoppers – particularly those motivated by a desire to consume sustainably – can purchase items held in any Oxfam shop in the UK, receive them by post and return them if unwanted. “Last March, we did about £200,000-worth of online sales. By December it was up to £1.5m,” said Haden.
January is normally the busiest time of the year for donations. Dumping outside premises became a major problem during the first lockdown when local authority recycling centres were also closed, but that has not been repeated on a large scale this time. Some charities have devised alternative ways for people to donate items. The British Heart Foundation offers a freepost service for people to send small, quality items for resale. Others are using donation banks. “In general, we’re asking people to hang on to items for another few weeks,” said Osterley.