Oxfam has reported a five-year high in charity shop sales revenues over the Christmas period, raising an additional £1.7m in November and December.
The poverty relief charity raised £1.7m from additional sales during the period, rising by 10 per cent across November and December compared to the previous year. Online shop sales saw a 43 per cent growth over the same period.
Growth of new products grew by 14 per cent, driven by the charity’s range of ethical gifts and fair trade products. The Christmas card range saw sales rise by 4 per cent, while sales of food grew by 15 per cent. Sales of donated goods grew by nine per cent.
Online growth
Online sales saw “significant growth” at 25 per cent year on year, according to a statement by the charity. Online donated sales were up by 44 per cent in November and December, while January 2017 has so far seen the best sales since the site launched in 2007, up 79 per cent compared to the same week last year.
Andrew Horton, Oxfam’s trading director said the growth in sales was attributed to “a combination of factors, including our new improved shop fronts, ethical gift ranges and increased opening hours”.
“The figures show that shoppers love what they find in Oxfam shops and support the charity’s work fighting extreme poverty,” he said.
Sales of the virtual charity gift range Oxfam Unwrapped – providing safe water for a small community or beekeeping training in poor countries, for example – also saw a growth of nine per cent on the high street and three per cent online.
Civil Society Media's Charity Finance magazine produces the Charity Shops Survey each year. In 2016 it found that for the first time in more than a decade charity shop profits had fallen, that income was stagnating and shops faced pressures on wages, rents and volunteer numbers. Order your copy here.
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