Key statistics
| Profit contribution of charity retail to parent charities | £387m in 2022/23 1 |
| Social value generated by UK charity shops | £75.3 billion in Jan-Dec 2022 9 |
| Average transaction value in a charity shop | £7.02 in October-December 2023 (sample 51 charities)2 |
| Amount of textiles kept from being disposed of each year | 339,000 tonnes in 2018/19 3 |
| Number of people employed | More than 26,100 FTE employees 4 |
| Number of volunteers | More than 187,200 volunteers 4 |
| Number of charity shops | C. 10,200 5 |
| Proportion of income from new goods sales | 13.8% in October-December 2023 (sample 58 charities) 2 |
| Sample info on average price per item | UK, median prices: |
| Womenswear: £4.5; Examples from the womenswear category: blouses, tops and knitwear: £4, skirts and trousers: £4, dresses and suits: £6.5 6 | |
| Menswear: £5.01; Examples from the menswear category: shits, t-shirts & knitwear: £4.5, trousers £4.61 6 | |
| Proportion of all retail units which are charity shops | 3.3% 5 |
| Proportion of empty shops across GB | 14% in Q4 2023 7 |
| Amount charity shops save councils in waste disposal charges | At least £31 million each year by diverting 339,000 tonnes of textiles away from landfill or incineration 8 |
| Sources | |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | CRA’s QMA/shop data and Civil Society’s Charity Shops Survey data combined CRA’s Quarterly Market Analysis (QMA) report CRA’s Sources of Stock and QMA data combined CRA’s Workforce report, August 2023 CRA’s “Find a shop” data, Feb 2024 CRA’s Average selling prices report, Jan-Dec 2022 BRC and Local Data Company CRA’s 2018/19 reports and WRAP’s Gate Fees 2019/20 Report ‘The Value of Giving Back – The Social Value of Charity Shops’ report |
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Updated May 2022