Charity Retail & Social Media...Instagram is very popular with Gen Z, with research highlighting...

Comparing the top 40 charity retailers (by income), researching online

e-commerce and social media channels, including Instagram, Twitter and

Facebook in line with the shopping preferences of nu-wave Gen Z shoppers.

Charity Retail &

Social MediaMarket Research 2018

2CHARITY RETAIL & SOCIAL MEDIA MARKET RESEARCH 2018 cybertill.com/charitystore

Charities need to engage more on social media with Gen Z, these are their new volunteers, shoppers and donors.

Rob Finley, Business Development Director & Head of Charity, Cybertill

Charity retail operations are incredibly complex. In no other sector do you have unknown stock delivered to unknown locations at unknown times yet have the most unique, amazing and difficult to find items.

In what other type of shop can you find that one-

of-a-kind item, a vintage dress or your favourite

book, next to a selection of new goods, all raising

money for a good cause?

YouGov and Cybertill research looked into

Generation Z (Gen Z) to find out about their

shopping habits and what frustrates them most

when shopping on the high street.

These 18 - 24 year olds are more socially

conscious than previous generations and

the potential for charity retailers to gain new

shoppers in Gen Z is huge. This report highlights

what charities should do with social media to

gain the support of this generation.

Intro: Get Social

https://www.charitystore.co.uk/


Gen Z Shopping at a Glance

49%of in-store fashion purchases are influenced by ecommerce55%

voted contactless payment to be the most valuable in-store tech 55%

want charity shops on their ‘Ideal High Street’(1)

37%of Gen Z find queuing for the checkout frustrating



Gen Z have often been labelled the ‘Social Media Generation’. It’s very rare that you will see the under 25’s without their smart phones.

But these social media enthusiasts feel part of a Global community and

because the world is so connected, they are more aware of what is happening

in the World and want to make a difference, which is where social media can

be so valuable for charity retailers.

All charities raise money for good causes, some in the UK and some

internationally and social is a great way to encourage Gen Z to donate,

volunteer or even shop, which is why it comes to no surprise that 100% of the

charity retailers in this research have a Facebook page and Twitter feed.

What about Instagram? Instagram is very popular with Gen Z, with research highlighting that 31% of

worldwide users are aged 18-24, with Millennials coming in second at 30%(2),

but only 85% of charity retailers have an Instagram account, and only 2% link

to their online shop from the social media platform - Oxfam GB and Ashgate

Furniture Store (Ashgate Hospicecare).

Social Media Generation



100%

Social Media, by Channel

Percentage of charity retailers on social media by channel

100%

85%



Charity Retail Research Highlight

Ashgate Furniture Company is the new goods furniture shop run by Ashgate Hospicecare.

Director of Retail, Graham Richardson, who spent over a decade with Topshop - a

destination for Gen Z shoppers, knows that for charity retail to survive, technology needs

to be embraced to create positive shopping experiences.

Interestingly, Ashgate Furniture Company is only one of two charity retailers that have a

direct link to their e-commerce store across all social media channels, including Instagram.

Cybertill customer

Retailers must embrace the latest technology and marry that up with their portfolio to diversify the offer. Retail cannot rely just on bricks and mortar. By taking advantage of continued online growth and by using different and new exciting brands within any retail portfolio, charities could start to innovate.

Graham Richardson, Director of Retail, Ashgate Hospicecare

https://www.ashgatefurniturecompany.co.uk/



E-commerce is a crucial route to market for any retail business and something that charities should include as part of their growing business plans.

According to our market research, only 45% of the top 20 charity retailers have

an e-commerce offering, some of the larger charities without e-commerce

include Age UK and Marie Curie.

So what are the other 55% doing? Out of the top 40, the 22 charity retailers

who don’t have an e-commerce offering are relying on their high street stores,

with only a few of those selling products on eBay or Amazon - 45% and 18%

respectively.

With the majority of charity retailers selling new goods, charities need to start

selling online to maximise their reach, revenues and Gift Aid claims.

It’s all very well having an online shop, but how are charities going to get Gen Z

to take notice and shop? Social media is the key and something charities need

to act on fast to engage with the under 25’s, which is why it’s worrying that only

18% of charity retailers researched link to their online shop from Facebook, and

only two charities link from Twitter and Instagram.

E-commerce

https://shop.cancerresearchuk.org/



Charity Retail Research Highlight

Oxfam GB really know how to tap in to their wide supporter base and are one of

only two charity retailers to have an Instagram account for their online shop, with a

link back to their e-commerce site.

Understanding supporters goes a long way to encouraging loyalty. The fact that 49%

of Gen Z’s in-store fashion purchases are influenced from browsing online, Oxfam

can safely say that it’s making the most of their social commerce opportunities.

Getting charities online is one thing, but getting them on social media is even better. Social channels are free and extremely easy to use, so it’s really surprising to see that only Oxfam and Ashgate Furniture Company are making the most of free online selling channels.

Rob Finley, Head of Charity, Cybertill

https://www.instagram.com/oxfamonlineshop/



The Future is Instagram

Spring 2018 saw Instagram launch its shopping feature for brands in the UK, and retailers across the country were quick to adopt it, and why wouldn’t the be?

Instagram is one of the most used social media channels amongst 18 - 24

year olds, with over 60% of the age group making up the user base, who

spend on average 330 minutes each month on the platform.(3)

Screwfix, M&S and Topshop were quick to turn on the shopping feature.

Even though two of those names aren’t synonymous with Gen Z, they are

maximising revenues amongst their followers by making it simple to shop

the items in the social images - something charities selling new goods need

to consider, and fast.

All shoppers want their customer journey to be simple and charity supporters

are no different. Setting up a business Instagram account is quick, easy and

above all, free; with the shopping feature allowing retailers to tag posts with

up to five products per image. Once a follower has tapped on a post, they

can then be taken along their journey, learning more about the charities that

inspire them and the items they can purchase to support their good cause. Over 90% of Gen Z who use Facebook

also use Instagram(4)



What Charity Retailers Can Do Now

It’s great to see that 100% of charities researched have a Facebook and Twitter

account, with a large percentage - 85% also having an Instagram feed. Although

a positive statistic, there is still much more available to charity retailers via these

social media channels, in particular, social commerce.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/ashgatefurnitureco/

1. Set up an Instagram account for

your retail operation - and for

those 15% not on Instagram, get

on there quick!

2. Enable the shopping features on

Instagram, directing followers

to your e-commerce, eBay or

Amazon shop

3. Add your shop URL to your

Facebook bio, even if it is a link

to your eBay or Amazon store -

only 17% of charity retailers are

currently doing this

4. Insert a link in your Twitter bio

to your shop, or alternatively

link in your posts to your online

sales channels

5. Get your bricks-and-mortar shops

on Snapchat. 89% of Gen Z have

a Snapchat account(5) and high

street retailers are making the

most of this. Encourage your

individual stores to join and send

shots of what’s new in store and

the volunteers who are helping

on the day, letting each store

express themselves and have fun

with followers. Inspire them with

the items they can purchase to

support their good cause.

5 things you can do now to engage with Gen Z:



Digital engagement is growing and people want to give and respond instantly, specifically amongst younger audiences.

Technology is allowing us to develop innovative ways of creating customer experiences and ease of purchase. It allows our different target audiences to engage with us in a way that suits them - offering a clear message and a call to action.

Caroll Hutchings, Group Head of Marketing, PDSA

Cybertill customer



When your charity shops operate online and in-store, the till

is not just a point of sale, but instead, a point of service for

your supporters. Cybertill’s CharityStore software can help you

create a more personalised and streamlined experience for your

supporters and donors.

▶ Increases Gift Aid through making donor sign up simple and

100% accurate

▶ Offers data in real-time, giving you better more accurate data

(no polling overnight!)

▶ Offers better Gift Aid returns and lowers costs with the

Electronic Gift Aid Donor Sign Up module

▶ Includes Advanced Gift Aid which populates all sales data in a

simple barcode scan, increasing transaction values

▶ Enables multi-channel fundraising, sell add ons such as lottery

tickets through the till

▶ Verifies supporter details in real-time, removing duplicates

▶ Click and collect

▶ Makes checkout a breeze, resulting in happier staff, volunteers,

and customers as the till is fast and easy to use

▶ Allows you to even sell event tickets in-store and online,

increasing spend and driving footfall

▶ Helps grow your supporter base through the easy-to-use CRM,

increasing donations and spends

▶ Is fully hosted in the Amazon Web Services cloud. We manage

the servers for you, saving you money, space and time

▶ Live view of all stock, customers and donors across the whole

retail operation

Creating a better supporter journey

Wherever you are on your technology journey, Cybertill can help, with more shops than any other supplier and experience of more than 10 years in the charity sector we can help you grow and improve your sales and turnover.



Social media is now at the forefront of everything that we do in our personal lives, so it makes sense to be present as a business to fall in line with prospective customer’s natural behaviour. Our investments in this area has seen our engagement levels and traffic to the website sky rocket.

As a dedicated supporter of multiple charities, it is an important platform to convey important messages from our partners and help to support these great causes, outside of our everyday enterprise – growing others through growing ourselves.

Danielle Wynne, Social Media Manager, Brother UK



Cybertill provides complete retail management solutions for service-focused businesses. Its dedicated cloud platforms, CharityStore and RetailStore feature a real-time single view of stock, sales and customers across all customer touchpoints including branded retail shops, pop-ups, franchises, concessions, online and mobile.

Founded in 2001 by omnichannel retail pioneer, Ian

Tomlinson, Cybertill pushes boundaries and works with

customers to build solutions that suit their business

needs. Cybertill serves over 700 businesses globally and

helps process over 64 million transactions a year.

About



Retailer Selection

Using the top 20 charity retailers by revenue from the Charity Shops

Survey, we hand picked charity retailers.

Research and Criteria The research executed between 27 August - 4th September 2018 using

a Google Chrome web browser on a Dell laptop running Windows 10.

Criteria for the research included the following: Does the charity retailer

have an ecommerce website? Does the charity retailer have a facebook

page? Does the charity link to their ecommerce site via Facebook? Does

the charity retailer have a Twitter feed? Does the charity link to their

ecommerce site via Twitter? Does the charity retailer have an Instagram

feed? Does the charity link to their ecommerce site via Instagram? Has

the charity retailer enabled the shopping feature on Instagram?

Cybertill commissioned the online YouGov Survey, completed by 2,004

GB adults aged between 18-55+. A total of 973 males and 1,031 females

took part. The analysis has been broken down into the demographic of

183 Generation Z (18-24).

Terms and ConditionsThe data contained in this report is based on the researcher’s

judgement at the time of testing and in relation to documented

guidelines. The artwork contained within this report are copyright and

Research Methodology

trademark of respective owners. Cybertill does claim ownership of the

artwork. The screen shots displayed within this report are displayed

to support constructive review and feedback within the topic of social

media retailing.

Data contained within this report may only be published if crediting

‘Cybertill Charity Retail Social Media Market Research Report 2018’ and a

link back to: retailstore.co.uk/charity-social-media-report-2018

For press enquiries, or to request access to the raw data, please contact

[email protected]

References(1) YouGov, 2018. Thinking about your ideal high street, which of the

following types of shops would you want or not want to see on it? [Online]

Available at: https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/

document/8wc3sits0h/IdealHighstreet_MergeResults_180522.pdf

(2) Statista, 2018. Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of

January 2018, by age group. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.

com/statistics/325587/instagram-global-age-group/

(3)(4) & (5) UKOM, 2018. Facebook & Snapchat: Age Profiles. [Online]

Available at: http://ukom.uk.net/insights/36-facebook-snapchat-age-

profiles.php


CHARITY RETAIL & SOCIAL MEDIA MARKET RESEARCH 2018 cybertill.com/charitystore

t: 0800 030 4459

e: [email protected]

w: cybertill.com/charitystore

@Charity_store linkedin.com/company/cybertill

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