Charity Shop

Quarterly Market Analysis Report October-December 2018: glowing end to a challenging year

Our latest Quarterly Market Analysis Report (October to December 2018) reveals further growth in the charity retail sector despite footfall continuing to decline.

Like-for-like income excluding Gift Aid tax reclaims increased by 2.7 per cent (up 3.0 per cent including Gift Aid), and customer sales were up by 3.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis from October-December 2017.

Positive income growth was indicated by 77 per cent of respondents, with smaller and medium charity retail chains generally performing better. Overall, the charity retail sector has seen growth in all quarters of 2018, which is a remarkable performance considering the ongoing challenges that our members are contending.

Other report highlights include:

  • Footfall over the quarter continued to decline (-2.6 per cent year-on-year); a long-term trend mainly driven by the move from in-store to online purchases
  • Charity shop numbers in the sample decreased by 1.8 per cent between December 2017 and December 2018
  • Charity retail customer sales increased by 3.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis from October-December 2017; yet over the three months to December, in-store non-food retail sales in the UK declined by 3.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis (BRC)
  • Like-for-like donated goods income increased by 3.2 per cent for the sector against October-December 2017; and made up 85.2 per cent of sales this quarter
  • Textile recycling income decreased by three per cent on a like-for-like basis from October-December 2017; and the median average rag price was 42 pence per kilo for members who completed our rag survey this quarter.

Our Quarterly Market Analysis Reports are produced exclusively for members, who are encouraged to participate in our research programme. Please contact our Research Manager Olaia Alamos Castresana for more details.