Charity shops saw sales increase while high street had a 'torrid' year – Civil Society

Chloe_Scope

Charity shops saw their sales increase significantly in the last quarter of 2019, outperforming the high street, research from accountancy firm BDO has found. 

Charity retail sales grew by 3.5% in October, by 5.8% in November and by 3.9% in December compared to the same months in 2018. 

The research is based on sales data from 4,000 charity shops. BDO said that both new goods and donated goods sold well over the quarter.

Both Oxfam and Save The Children have independently reported strong retail performances.

Read the full article here: Charity shops saw sales increase while high street had a 'torrid' year – Civil Society

Have you used a charity shop this year? How did you find the experience? Let us know in the comments below!

newborn

They are too dear, but secondhand things save the planet.   It would  make sense if a re-using and repairing centre was available within reach of everyone. 
It could be jointly organised by charities and volunteers. 

woodbine

High street sales rose 5.9% in January year on year, in a promising start to 2020

deb74

I buy most of my clothes from charity shops. My house is furnished with things bought from charity shops. I have saved myself a fortune. I agree with newborn that some charity shops are very expensive the prices in Oxfam are ridiculous! I love shopping in charity shops you never know what you will find.

April2018mom

I love charity shops. No joke either. Seriously. What is your favorite charity shop? 

A lot of my children's toys, books and games come from charity shops in town and further afield too. You can find some really nice things at charity shops as well. I have often stopped by to see what sort of stuff I can buy on the cheap at a charity shop. I could talk forever about charity shops. But I am digressing now. So I'll stop. The experience was good. I understand that people are different however I have never been treated rudely ever. 

The overall atmosphere is simply lovely. There are at least two charity shops in my area. They stock fairly nice items like jigsaw puzzles etc. One even has lots of nice adult books and clothes. I’m going to pay a visit to all local charity shops tomorrow and see if I can pick up or at least find myself unwanted bric a brac stuff for my flat. I will also take a couple of boxes of old unwanted items down with me to donate directly. I hope to find something at least. 

What is not to love? It is like the pound shop really that is located across the road further up on the other side of the street. At least this is my honest opinion of all British charity shops. Every time I enter a charity shop I tend to find at least one interesting, brand new or unwanted item to buy in there. So how often do you visit your local charity stores? Tell me more about your interesting and uninteresting purchases or finds at charity shops.

Thanks for the article @Chloe_Scope! 

deb74

Hi @April2018mom. I used to volunteer in a charity shop. I did this for 3 and a half years. It was the best job I ever had. The people I worked with including the manager were lovely and we had so much fun! We had a comments book in the shop and were always given great reviews. One of our customers even wrote a review on facebook praising my customer service as I was always in the shop helping and serving customers. As I said before most of my house is furnished with things from the charity shops and there are definatley bargains to be had, for instance I got a three seater settee from a charity shop a couple of years ago for £60 and when I looked at the label on the settee it was from Marks and Spencer! What a bargain. You can get some really great names. I have clothes such as per una, and wallis from the charity shops.. I visit the charity shops every time I go into town which is usually once a week. 

Chloe_Scope

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts here.