The cost of living crisis is causing a boom in sales for local charity shops
BY POLLY MORGAN
One small positive in this cost-of-living crisis and high inflation we are experiencing currently in the UK is that charity retail has seen an unexpected boom in sales in the last year as people struggling to afford the high-cost hikes in mainstream shops go hunting for a bargain. Here, we meet two charity shop managers in Greenwich who are witnessing an increase in sales in their shops
Kathy Parkhouse has been the manager of the Oxfam second-hand bookshop next to Greenwich market for around a year and has overseen a real turnaround in sales in the shop.
“Nationally, Oxfam has seen its biggest growth area in books and has a good reputation for selling second-hand books. Oxfam is known as the biggest second-hand bookseller in Europe. This bookshop in Greenwich is well-situated for footfall, being next to the famous Greenwich market which is a tourist destination and local favourite. We get a great deal of footfall with our situation, especially at the weekends when tourists and Londoners come to Greenwich to visit world-famous highlights such as the Cutty Sark, situated across the road from us.
“This last financial year, this bookshop contributed £40,000 more to Oxfam projects as profit than in the previous year, which is a real success to be noted. In the last few years, second-hand retailers have become ‘cool’ in the eyes of the public, also due to the sustainability focus due to the climate change crisis plus the recent cost of living crisis. We noticed particularly last Christmas that customers were on the look-out for a bargain of a pre-loved gift.
“Being the manager of this Oxfam bookshop has been a fulfilling, rewarding job and a real dream come true for me. I manage a team of over 40 volunteers who are all well-trained and keen and we are a popular place for volunteers to seek out. Art and literature second-hand books sell particularly well in this shop as well as fiction. We have lots of rare collectibles and old books too which prove popular with collectors and booklovers. Our online shop has doubled its turnover since it started. Donations are key to generating quality stock and we are always on the look-out for more quality donations so please do drop in any book donations if you have them!”
Clothes for Causes is another popular charity shop, located on Trafalgar Road, East Greenwich. It helps the homeless by selling women’s and men’s clothes, shoes, and accessories.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve noticed a real boom in the charity retail market here as post-Covid times the high street is still getting back on its feet, but what I would say is that we’ve noticed shoppers come in looking for a bargain who wouldn’t normally go into a charity shop,” says its manager Veronique de Crop. “Our vision when opening Clothes for Causes was to introduce a new type of charity shop to the high street, that wasn’t the traditional format, so we are blessed to receive high-end and designer and good quality clothes, shoes and accessories that go down a treat with our customers.
“We are well-placed in Greenwich to attract a good range of customers plus quality donations. We are also unique in that instead of recycling what we can’t sell, we sell a lot of stock such as having a £1 rail for people who might be struggling to afford clothes elsewhere. We’ve noticed more people hunting for a bargain recently, as well as young people, as for £15 or so you can walk away with a couple of nice outfits.”
Support your local charity shop:
Oxfam Books, 2 College Approach, London SE10 9HY; onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk
Clothes for Causes at: 158 Trafalgar Rd, London SE10 9TZ; clothesforcauses.org.uk
This article appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Black + Green Magazine