Charity retail is experiencing a surge in popularity, with a 32% growth in 2016, the sector currently raises over £270m each year for a range of causes in the UK.
Vintage clothes, furniture and vinyl are experiencing a resurgence and with this comes the millennial consumer. In the past 5 years consumers have changed dramatically and now expect a true omni-channel experience, not just with high street retails, but with charity shops too, making this a prosperous opportunity for charity retailers.
Evolving with the changes will give you many opportunities to increase revenue:
Gift Aid
“Capturing every penny of Gift Aid, saving time at the till and minimising admin is key to tapping into quick win revenue – in-store and online.”
One of the best ways to maximise revenue for charity retail is to claim Gift Aid on donations and donated goods, typically increasing the re-sale value of donated goods by 25%. Although the thought of all the admin work with many charities may be a daunting prospect, it can be made easier and more accurate through using a single barcode to record the Gift Aid donor, the price and category all at once through an EPoS system.
Supporter Loyalty
Keeping supporters and donors engaged and loyal is important for charities increasing revenue. According to research by the Civil Society, donated goods sold in shops account for over £500m, 1.43% of these sales were online.
Implementing loyalty programmes, supporter cards and donor cards will strengthen engagement, enhance donor relationships and attract new supporters. Making your donors feel valued will increase basket size and repeat shopper frequency, whilst allowing you to create a supporter database within your till system and establish regular communication with these supporters.
Event Manager
Drive in-store footfall and extra revenue into your charity shop using an event ticketing module built in to your till, enabling you to quickly and easily start generating extra income for your fundraising events. Not only will you be uniting and maximising your promotional opportunities but you’ll be offering your supporters helpful event information and an easy and personal point of purchase/registration to keep them coming back to buy and donate.
Lottery
Lottery is now vital to many charity retailers fundraising revenue streams, with supporters feeling incentivised to donate to their chosen cause and being in with a chance of winning a prize. However, despite the captive audience, many charities don’t sell lottery tickets in-store mainly due to the cost of printing and distribution of tickets.
Utilising a lottery module within your EPoS system means you can easily sell down to the last minute, simplifying the admin process and securely collect more supporter data, enhancing your engagement strategy and recruit more regular players.
Social Media
More charities are using social media to promote their stores and raise awareness of their causes, giving them the opportunity to engage directly with supporters.
Creating social media accounts for each of your shop locations can drive customers and supporters in to your store and give the shop a local feel. Empowering individual shop staff and volunteers to manage their social media activity can encourage more flash sales or in-store events and fundraisers which are promoted to a wider audience, boosting footfall and ultimately sales.
Specialist shops
Charity shops are embracing the need for specialist stores in towns and cities to increase footfall and revenue. Whether its furniture, vintage clothing, bookshops or bridal, specialist stores can reach new supporters who are looking for something specific.
British Red Cross have a number of specialist stores, including two bridal stores in Edinburgh and Dorking selling new and second-hand wedding dresses, accessories and veils. Extending their reach, they also stock formal, party and evening wear, making it a one stop shop for the bride and guests.
Multi-channel Retail
Multi-channel retail has become the norm amongst high street retailers and is becoming more popular with charity and hospice retailers.
Making available high value rare items, specialist or collectables through multiple online and in-store retail channels, charity and hospice retailers can maximise product exposure and increase profit. Through integrating your in-store products with your e-commerce website, eBay and Amazon stores, you can also have visibility of critical real-time transaction and stock availability across your stores and online outlets. With instant sales notifications to the till, double selling items is eradicated.
Visit us
Why not visit us at the Charity Retail Association Exhibition,
25th – 27th June 2017, stand 39 to find out how you can increase revenue.
Rachel is passionate about retail and the ever-changing retail technology environment, with a keen eye for upcoming retail trends that are set to shake up the sector.
