Charity retail sales slumped by a quarter during the start of the latest lockdown, latest figures show

A promising start to the last quarter of 2020 was “snuffed out” by lockdown restrictions, according to the latest Charity Retail Sales Tracker.

This found that total like for like sales were down by around a fifth (19.2%) in October last year, compared to more than a quarter (27.7%) among commercial high street shops.

“However, as new lockdown restrictions were put in place towards the end of the month, charity shops felt an immediate impact on trade,” according to BDO, which has produced the tracker with the Charity Retail Association.

In December, when lock down restrictions became stricter UK wide, total like for like charity retail sales slumped by 26.2%, although this still performed better that their high street counterparts, who suffered a 31.4% drop in sales in the same month.

With non-essential shops closed during lockdown many charities are looking at ramping up their online retail operations. A poll by BDO suggests that 85% are looking to expand their current online sales operations and 8% are looking to introduce online sales where none had previously existed.

“We were beginning to see encouraging signs at the beginning of quarter four, but new lockdown restrictions brought any hopes of a sustained recovery to an abrupt halt,” said BDO charity retail partner Fiona Condron.

“However, it’s clear that the pandemic is forcing many charities to rethink their retail strategies. Many are now looking carefully at how e-commerce operations might complement their high street presence to help drive up income.”

Last October BDO’s figures warned that a summer recovery in charity shop sales was at threat from regional Covid-10 lockdown restrictions.

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