Majority of Britons think retailers don’t support charity, says Give as you Live survey
Howard Lake | 31 October 2013 | News
According to research by Give as you Live, 87% of Britons believe that retailers are not supporting good causes. In the case of cinema, electronics and gadgets, DIY, holidays, sport and leisure, and books, games and DVDs, over 90% of respondents could not recall any examples of charitable support from retailers.
The research is part of a study of over 2,000 Britons who were asked about retailers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and any impact it has on customer loyalty and spending.
Only 13% of consumers could recall their favourite retailers providing any charitable support.
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The best performing sector was ‘food and drink’, but even then 59% if respondents could recall no charitable support when asked about their favourite retailer.
No retail sectors seem to be renowned for their charitable support. Only 15% of shoppers have noticed charitable activities from their favourite fashion retailer, 16% from their favourite healthcare, beauty and pharmacy and 11% for their utilities provider.
The best performing sector was ‘Food and drink’, yet the majority of respondents (59%) recalled no charitable support when thinking of their favourite retailer.
Charitable support and consumers
Give as you Live suggest that retailers are missing out by not engaging in and promoting their charitable support activities. The research found that 49% of Britons would spend more money with a retailer if it donated to a charity.
Polly Gowers OBE, CEO and Founder of Give as you Live, commented: “Our previous data indicated that consumers would spend more with a retailer that was seen to be giving back to society. Retailers who engage in CSR activities not only look good, but could also increase sales.”
The survey was conducted by Censuswide between 13 and 20 August 2013. Data is based on responses from 2,050 men and women in the UK.
- Give As You Live research advises how charities can better engage young people (18 March 2020)
- Give As You Live raises £8 million for UK charities (9 March 2017)
- Vogue.com and Give As You Live present ‘fashion for good’ during Online Fashion Week (8 December 2011)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.