The Guide to Major Trusts 2025-26. DSC (Directory of Social Change)

Britain a nation of charity shop lovers

More than eight out of ten people in the UK have bought something from a charity shop (86%), according to the Charities Aid Foundation’s Charity Street II report.
The report shows that charity shopping is more popular among those living in the UK’s most affluent areas, where 90% reported having ever bought an item compared to 82% of people living in the most deprived area.
Older people, women and people living in more affluent areas are the most likely to have bought something from a charity shop. People living in rural areas are also more likely to have bought something from a charity shop (91%) than their urban counterparts (84%).
More key findings:

Susan Pinkney, head of research at the Charities Aid Foundation, said:

“Gone are the days when there was a stigma attached to charity shopping with our figures showing that people in more affluent areas are on average more likely to be charity shoppers. But crucially, charity shops do not just rely on the shoppers. Their success is built on many different acts of altruism, from those who donate goods to the tens of thousands of volunteers who help to work to run them.”

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The report also showed however that while people have used an average of six charitable services in the past year, there is a lack of awareness of which services are provided by charities. Around a quarter (23%) of the population are unaware that the charity services that they or someone in their household used were run by charities. Given a list of 16 services provided by charities, less than one in ten people were aware they were all provided by the voluntary sector.

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