Retail Training: an investment or a expence? Background Most charities ensure their retail teams complete compulsory training. However, because this training is often online and heavily reading‑based, many retail staff experience it as a tedious task rather than a meaningful development opportunity. Charity retail is unique within the wider retail sector. While its purpose includes[…]
What Is the Right Price for Donated Goods? Many people within charities assume that charity shops should simply increase prices in line with inflation to boost sales. It sounds logical—but in reality, pricing in charity retail is far more nuanced. Unlike traditional retail, where pricing is driven by profit margins and predictable supply chains, charity retail[…]
Is your retail strategy delivering? Whilst it’s very important for every charity retailer to have a strategy, it is equally important that the strategy is delivering profit growth every year. Whilst some retail leaders will point to the economy, rising costs, or the need to upgrade shops as the reason for weak sales and[…]
Background Looking back at our key predictions for 2025, they were generally accurate. However, 2026 is harder to predict because during 2025 three different overarching strategies have emerged from charity retailers. Retail Expansion Retail Stagnation Retail Contraction The context is that many traditional retailers have struggled to absorb the additional costs and combat the growing[…]
Why some charities are not making the most of the economic conditions As the UK economy approaches a potential recession amidst stagnating growth, there are significant expectations for a surge in charity retail performance. Historical trends have demonstrated that charity retailers often experience sales increases during economic downturns; however, the current landscape presents a more[…]
How do you measure true retail performance? Overview Most charities measure retail performance by measuring sales and profits against the budget and last year. This is a good system, providing the true potential of each shop, including online sales and profitability is fully understood and used as the budget or depending on the gap, a[…]
The formula for greater charity retail sales & profits During 2024 Charity Retail Sales overall declined year on year in many charities but not all have had declining sales. Footfall decreased during 2024, so every charity retailer had to work harder and ensure their retail operations delivered excellence in the instore customer journey and best[…]
How do you improve the performance of a charity retail business? When a mainstream retailer is not performing to its optimum performance the focus to improve performance is normally on the buying and marketing, however within charity retail it is different. Charity Retail has an extraordinarily complex range of interdependencies. It is very dependent on[…]
Charity Retail Budgeting Check List Every year charity retailers set their budget for the following year. There is normally a structured process and one of the key elements on which the future budget is based is the current performance of different individual sales channels (shops and online). However, this is really the best methodology because[…]
The reasons why so many charities are reviewing their retail business Many charities have enjoyed a retail sales boom since mid-2022 through to the end of 2023. Most charities understand the increased cost pressures of 2024 that include the large increases to the national living wage that could greatly impact profits. Therefore, it is not[…]
