Gift card for charity shops starts rollout
Melanie May | 25 November 2021 | News
A nationally accepted, multi-retailer gift card exclusively for charity shops has been developed by Gift Card CIC, a social enterprise, and the Charity Retail Association.
The Charity Shop Gift Card gives charities an opportunity to tap into the gift card market, which was valued at £7billion by the Gift Card and Voucher Association’s Valuing the UK Gift Card Industry 2020 report. The national rollout has begun with it now being accepted in charity shops in several areas of the country including Haven Hospices and Pilgrim Hospices stores. More have signed up and are awaiting the necessary updates to their till systems. These include Sense, which will come online early in the New Year.
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Also central to the scheme’s objectives is helping to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, with figures from the Charity Retail Association showing that charity shops already divert around 339,000 tonnes of textiles away from landfill or incineration every year.
As well as charities selling the cards in their own shops, it is available for purchase on the Charity Shop Gift Card site. Local authorities and other support agencies will also be able to partner with the scheme and use the cards to distribute direct financial assistance to individuals and families.
In addition, The Charity Shop Gift Card is seeking to work with specialist agencies that sell gift cards directly to businesses, with B2B sales representing 45% of the gift card market.
Lee Fellows, Managing Director of Gift Card CIC, said:
“The gift card market is huge, but until now it’s proven difficult for charities to tap into it, individually and collectively, because they don’t have shops in every town or city, and few are currently selling online.
“This is a gift card for good that presents a solution, as well as real opportunities for charities and support agencies through this growing consumer market.
“Sustainability is a major driver of our scheme with the need for urgent action to control climate change at the top of the global agenda. This first nationally accepted gift card for charity shops can facilitate further growth in the circular second-hand economy which can in turn contribute to the UK achieving its targets to cut methane emissions, which landfill contributes to, by 30% by 2030, as agreed at COP26.
“The retail operations of charities are an important source of income as well as offering an alternative for shoppers which has a positive impact on the environment. Supporting that through increased consumer spend and our partnerships with support agencies is central to our aims.”
Robin Osterley, CEO of the Charity Retail Association, added:
“The first truly national charity shop gift card is a very exciting initiative that is launching at the perfect time for our members.
“There is an ever-growing number of environmentally aware people who are keen to buy from charity shops at a time when many of our members’ finances are under great strain because of the pandemic.
“Charities across the UK are enthusiastic about being able to tap into the thriving gift card market because of the opportunities it can provide, from an income-generating and environmental point of view.”
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.