Taking the plunge in creating an online presencefor a charity can be a difficult decision
Online retail in the UK has soared in recent years, with consumers now spending more than £130 billion every year online. However, charities have failed to take advantage of the trend, with online responsible for just a tiny percentage of their overall retail income.
Research has shown that the main reason people shop online is convenience – they can buy the items they want without the hassle of trawling through different stores, and from the comfort of their own homes.
However one of the problems charities have with online stores is the uncertainty over their inventory because they do not know what donations they are going to receive.
Christmas cards and other branded gift items are one area where charities are expanding their online sales, and some of the bigger organisations are now looking at other specific new items they can sell to help raise funds.
Cancer Research is aiming to reach a different audience through its online offering, and recently created a store which sells items for those people living with cancer. The Cancer Care shop sells items such as post-surgery seat belt protectors for women who have recently had a mastectomy and skin cooler pads to relieve radiation burns.
Julie Byard, head of trading for Cancer Research UK, said: “The whole idea for this range came from our volunteer patient support groups.
“We all agreed that there were many good reasons for introducing it to our online offering: a key motivation was enabling people on a cancer journey to feel more human again and to show that addressing these personal issues – even in small ways – can make a huge difference.”
The Big Issue Shop is an online marketplace for products created by social enterprises, listing items with statements of the specific social good they will create.
Brand manager Charmaine Crisp said: “We wanted to look at launching something online, and we also wanted to work more in partnership with social enterprises so it seemed like a good idea,” she said.
“As we have grown and developed the shop we have worked with a range of organisations that are doing great things, but they are also producing great products that people want to buy.”
Arthritis Research UK is one of few charities that closed its charity shops in favour of an online-only offering to supporters. It now sells Christmas items and calendars and diaries at arthritisresearchuk.org/shop.
Charlotte Guiver, the charity’s director of income generation, said: “We phased the closure of our shop network, with the last store closing in December 2017.
“The decision was not taken lightly and was based on many factors such as infrastructure, stock, leases and the changing nature of the high street.”
