Charity shops in Britain continue to struggle a tragic sales decline despite a surge in donations as households decluttered during lockdown. Oxfam, which has 595 shops, said the money coming through is down by 32 per cent on a like-for-like basis as compared to last year. The British Heart Foundation (BHF), which has around 740 shops reportedly said income is currently down around 20 per cent.
BHF said it lost around £60 million in sales during lockdown. Barnardo's meanwhile, was quoted by a media report as saying, “We are forecasting a loss of £30 million in shop income for this year.” BHF's 3,500 paid staff were all furloughed during the lockdown, but are now back working, alongside 18,000 volunteers. Oxfam has around 1,000 paid staff and 22,000 volunteers.
Oxfam said, “We are down by 40 per cent on volunteer numbers, with many feeling uncomfortable or unable to return. We desperately need more volunteers, and have launched a recruitment campaign, including volunteers who can work from home.” With the onset of Covid-19, bags of donations had to be put aside in store rooms for 48-72 hours, then steamed and cleaned.
A spokesperson said, “Decluttering was the tale of the lockdown. But we have to isolate items donated for 38 hours, and we can quickly run out of space.” Online operations of these major chains were stopped during the lockdown, but are now booming with more and more people preferring to buy remotely. Oxfam's online operation, which includes its own-sourced items, is enjoying sales running at around double last year's levels.
