Charity retail: past,
present and future
Elizabeth Parsons
Introduction
Most local high streets and shopping
precincts up and down the UK now have at
least one charity shop nestled in between their
betting shops, fast food takeaways and travel
agents. Given the prominence of charity
shops in the retail landscape and the recent
strides made in this sector's development it is
surprising just how little research attention
the sector has received to date. Charity shops
have been sidelined in debates around
consumption, retailing and the voluntary
sector alike, but perhaps most starkly in
literature on consumption and retailing
(Miller, 1995; Wrigley and Lowe, 1995). This
could be because in economic terms the
charity shop sector appears to be of little
significance. In 1998 the total turnover of the
charity retail sector was approximately £320
million. This turnover made up only around
0.2 percent of total retail sales for that year,
equivalent to the annual sales of the largest
single branch of a major commercial retailer
such as Selfridges' Oxford Street store
(Keating, 1998). However, while charity
retailing accounts for comparatively little of
the commercial retail economy, the shops
themselves are important in the lives of a wide
range of participants, including customers,
volunteers and managers. The shops also
provide a vital source of funding for charitable
activities overall. It is their very position in
simultaneously fulfilling charitable and
commercial roles that makes them an
interesting and valuable subject for research.
This paper explores the development of the
sector in some detail over the past decade; it
also examines the role of charity shops in their
local communities and provides some
suggestion as to the likely future of the sector.
A presence on the high street
Charity shops have become a familiar feature
of many local high streets up and down the
UK. In some areas their presence has
distinctly altered the local retail scene. These
shops have multiplied significantly
throughout the 1990s. In 1992 there were
around 3,480 charity shops in the UK; by
2002 they have almost doubled to around
6,220 (Charity Finance, 2002). Not only have
The author
Elizabeth Parsons is a Lecturer in the Department of
Marketing, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
Keywords
Retailing, Charities, Development
Abstract
Explores the development of the charity retailing sector in
the past decade. Examines the role of charity shops in
their local communities. Provides some suggestions as to
the likely future of the sector.
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586
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 30
.
Number 12
.
2002
.
pp. 586±594
# MCB UP Limited
.
ISSN 0959-0552
DOI 10.1108/09590550210453066