Retailers and their customer giving to good causes was worth £540,000 last year, figures from 34 High Street and online retailers have revealed.
This includes £200m raised for charities at stores and online through customer initiatives, £150m donated directly by retailers and £20m raised through payroll giving from staff working at brands including Amazon, Ikea, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
In addition, 69m meals and £76m worth of products were donated through retailers to good causes, such as through donating food and drink or goods for charities to sell on.
Also 1.7m worth of hours were volunteered through community link ups between retailers and local charities. This includes healthy diet and conservation products as well as promoting diversity and tackling period poverty.
The figures have been revealed by the British Retail Consortium in its UK retail charitable giving report for 2023.
It estimates that the total value of UK retailer's charitable giving is equivalent to £540,000.
An increase in giving through online and in-store microdonations, facilitated by the charity Pennies, is also highlighted in the report. Since 2010 this form of giving has raised £44m for more than 850 charities through 185m microdonations.
Our Charitable Giving Report - published today - shows that retailers, industry colleagues and customers raised £540m for good causes across the UK last year! 69m meals & £76m worth of products were donated to organisations supporting those in need.
— The British Retail Consortium (@the_brc) October 24, 2023
🔽https://t.co/MjrUbBm3Vc pic.twitter.com/Otc7Ep6Heh
“It is fantastic to see the scale of support that retailers, colleagues and customers have given to good causes in the last year, despite the tough economic landscape,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
“Whether fundraising in stores & online, making salary donations, or volunteering time for local projects, retailers are helping their communities in a wealth of ways.
Pennies chief executive Alison Hutchinson said that it has seen “digital micro-donations grow by over 45% year on year despite the challenging economic climate showing the generosity of retailers and their customers”.
Other retailers to take part in the research include the Co-op, Primark, Lidl and Costa Coffee.
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