Amazon opens in-person pop up for quality returned goods – benefitting Barnardo’s
Melanie May | 29 November 2023 | News
Amazon has today opened the Second Chance Store, giving shoppers the chance to buy quality returned products in-person for the first time, in the run up to Christmas.
The new retail store is located at the Brunswick Centre in central London and is open for the next two weeks (until 12 December) in partnership with Barnardo’s. It features deals on a wide range of returned products including kitchen and household appliances, books, games and toys, and electricals, and with up to 50% savings on recommended retail prices. All proceeds will go to the charity.
Amazon has donated more than 4,000 products for the Second Chance Store, including used, open-box and refurbished donated products. It also features a Repairs Zone where customers can take part in free repairs workshops, learning to fix broken laptops and household tech through live demonstrations.
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John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon commented:
“Amazon is committed to giving more products a second chance – both through helping customers shop pre-loved, and through programmes to recycle, trade-in and repair products, contributing to a more circular economy. The Second Chance Store that we’ve launched today with Barnardo’s is all about offering customers a great way to shop second-hand this festive season, while supporting a brilliant charity we have been working with for many years.”
Lynn Perry MBE, CEO of Barnardo’s, said:
“We’re grateful to this partnership, which will assist us in supporting more families in crisis across the UK. More than 800,000 children are currently living in poverty in the UK, whilst millions of families are having to choose between essentials like food, clothing and heating their home this winter. The funds raised from the Second Chance Store will help us continue the vital work of supporting families and ensuring children have the best possible start in life.”
Barnardo’s partnership
The Amazon Second Chance Store is an expansion of Amazon’s existing relationship with Barnardo’s, which has seen it provide millions of donated products since 2019. Amazon and Barnardo’s also launched a programme called the JOBS Project (Journey of Becoming Successful) which has supported 65 young people since 2021, with an ambition to help 500 people in the next five years, many of whom are care experienced, develop the skills needed to secure work and develop their careers. It is a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant.
More on Amazon’s secondhand & donated products
Amazon already offers quality used, open-box and refurbished products year-round online at Amazon Second Chance, which also provides customers with information about product repair, recycling and trade-in for electronics. In the UK, Amazon gave a second chance to more than four million products last year. and, in the first nine months of 2023, Amazon’s sales of secondhand goods in the UK increased by more than 15% compared to the same period last year.
So far this year, Amazon has facilitated the donation of more than 13 million products to more than 2,000 charities across the UK including Barnardo’s, the British Heart Foundation, In Kind Direct, Scope and The Multibankinitiative. This is through its Retail and Fresh operations, and its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) Donations programme which helps independent sellers using the Fulfilment by Amazon service donate overstock or returned items automatically.
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.