Online charity sales are on the rise as income from in-store sales continues to remain steady, new research has shown.

New data from the Charity Retail Association shows sales through online channels has increased by 14.3% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.

At the same time, like-for-like in-store income grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024, with the average transaction value increasing by 4.2%.

The rise in online sales comes as bad weather adversely affected footfall on the UK high streets, while the UK economy dipped into a mild recession.

Despite this, charities are hopeful that the upcoming summer months will see an improvement in in-store sales, with many shops planning creative initiatives such as pop-up events, fashion shows and themed events to coincide with the Olympics.

“Charity shops saw incredibly strong sales in 2023, which were always going to be difficult to replicate every year, but it’s reassuring to see that charity shops have maintained steady sales growth despite the challenges they have faced this quarter," Charity Retail Association chief executive, Robin Osterley said.

"We know that poor weather, the cost-of-living crisis, volunteer and staff shortages and the quality of donations are all issues that charity retailers are having to manage in recent months, so seeing an overall growth in total income of 2.9% compared to the same period last year is a positive sign, especially at a time when the broader commercial retail sector reported a drop in the growth of non-food sales," he addded.

“Over the past few years, charity shops have shown remarkable resilience, and this is reflected once again in their plans to open new stores, with nearly half of the respondents to our survey reporting that they’re planning to open new stores in the next 6 months.

"We’ve seen a particular increase in the popularity of boutiques and superstores, as charities continue to diversify and innovate to meet the changing needs of customers, and I look forward to seeing the exciting new changes that will take place in the sector over the coming months.”

Clothing and accessories remained the most popular donated items sold in charity shops during Q1 of 2024, accounting for 63.6% of the total income generated from donated items. Bric-a-brac was the second most popular category at 13.6%, followed by furniture at 7%.

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