Over a third of UK adults prefer pre-owned products over new if they support a good cause
Melanie May | 18 October 2021 | News
A poll of 2,000 UK adults has found that one in two now use charity shops and more than a third say they’re happier buying pre-owned products over new, if it means they will be supporting a good cause.
Nearly a quarter (22%) have also said they plan to do even more charity shopping next year.
The items most likely to be purchased for charity are books (53%), interior items (32%) and statement coats (30%), with the last two often where Brits are seeing the biggest bargains.
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The poll was commissioned by eBay UK to mark the launch of Charity Connect, a six-month programme created to help digitally upskill hundreds of charities to the eBay for Charity platform.
Chris Gale, Head of Social Impact at eBay UK said:
“So far this year, a staggering 87 million pre-loved items went to a new home via eBay. And with thousands of charities already on the marketplace, we’re delighted to see that this growing trend for shopping with impact, be it online or on the high street, is becoming the norm for many.
“With our Charity Connect programme in its second year, we’re excited to partner with charities to teach them skills that will give them access to the 29 million eBay customers and a virtual shop window to the world 24/7, ultimately helping to raise even more vital funds.”
Daniel Taylor, from St Rocco’s Hospice, commented:
“Our online sales through eBay have definitely increased since the start of the pandemic. Not only was there greater demand from buyers online, we were also able to focus some extra resources onto the operation resulting in long term growth and Charity Connect had plenty to do with this. The best opportunity that eBay presents us with though is to sell our best-selling items, such as fashion and books, closer to their true market value, which is something that we couldn’t achieve in our local network of shops.”
Last year’s Charity Connect programme saw charities including British Red Cross, Marie Curie and Vision Foundation take part in a series of free webinars on how to boost sales on eBay, including follow up 1:1 sessions with e-commerce experts.
People in the UK can also donate between 10% and 100% of their sale item to over 11,000 charities on eBay. In 2020, almost £31m was raised by the eBay UK community, with £27m directly from charities selling on the platform. To date, $1.1 billion has been raised globally through eBay for Charity, with £199 million raised for UK charities since 2007. In 2020, it broke its record for the second year running with a 17% increase on the previous year.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.