Charity retailers claw back lost ground in Q3 but outlook remains uncertain

BDO’s latest monthly Charity Retail Sales Tracker, which tracks the monthly like-for-like sales of over 2,500 charity shops, found that total like-for-like sales were down -44.7% in July, recovering to -28.6% in August and -21.1% in September.

The figures broadly reflect the recovery seen in commercial like-for-like sales. According to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker, high street stores closed the gap from -39.4% in July and -28.1% in August to -23.4% in September.

Based on feedback from charity retailers, September’s results were far from even across the board. A significant number of charity retailers continue to highlight the successful re-opening of stores and building back up to normal trading hours, with one retailer even exceeding income forecasts.

However, several retailers are still faced with challenges due to restrictions on trade arising from the pandemic, with the new local lockdowns impacting footfall significantly in some regions.

Notably, charity retailers cited footfall and staffing levels as being the key challenges they faced, reflecting the ongoing impact of COVID-19. One charity also noted they had experienced problems with customer complaints and aggression.

Fiona Condron, charity retail partner at BDO said: “While we have seen a steady recovery in charity store sales over the last three months as more shops have reopened, major uncertainties remain.

“In normal circumstances, the lead-up to Christmas should be a key period for many charity retailers, but new local lockdown restrictions are already impacting high street footfall and staffing availability, both of which risk blowing the recovery off course. While many commercial players can rely on online sales channels to compensate for lost high street custom, many charities aren’t so lucky.

“With so much uncertainty ahead, charities may need to rethink their approach by avoiding over-reliance on future charity store revenues and refocusing their efforts on diversifying their revenue streams.”

ENDS

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