We love our charity shops!

• More than eight out of ten of us (86%) have bought an item from a charity shop
• Older people, women and people living in more affluent areas are the most likely to have bought something from a charity shop
• Nearly every household (98 %) in the UK has used a charity at some point

The UK is a nation of charity shop lovers with more than eight out of ten of us (86%) having bought an item from a charity shop, according to the latest research by the Charities Aid Foundation.

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 than their urban counterparts.

The research reveals that those in the  East of England are the biggest charity shoppers with Londoners being the least likely to have ever bought something.

The figures form part of a wide-reaching report, Charity Street II, which examines the way people use charitable services and their awareness of the scope of charitable services.

The figures show that nearly every household (98 %) in the UK has used a charity at some point and on average people have used about six charitable services in the past year.

But awareness of which services are provided by charities is surprisingly poor.

Around a quarter (23%) of the population are unaware that the charity services that they or someone in their household used were, in fact, 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.

The report shows:

• 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 areas;
• More than seven in ten people (71%) aged 65 or over bought something from a charity shop last year. This compares to 53% of 18-24 year olds, with people becoming more likely to buy from charity shops as they get older;
• In rural areas 91% of people have ever bought something from a charity shop; in urban areas the figure in 84%;
• 93% of people living in East England have bought something from a charity shop compared to 80% of Londoners.
• Women buy things from charity shops more than men, with seven out of ten (70%) having bought an item in the past year, compared with just 54% of men;
• The other most common ways people have used charity services are visiting a charity run gallery, museum, garden or stately home (69%); visiting a church or religious institution run by a charity (46%) getting advice or information from a charity website (45%) and attending a university (44%)

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.

“Charity shops can be high street treasure troves, selling cheaper, second hand goods and often promoting ethically produced and ‘fair trade’ items.

“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.

“Our research also highlighted how much we all rely on charities without necessarily realising it. A huge amount of British public life is supported by generosity. And a lot of us are unaware of the scope of charities in the UK.”

The UK has more than 10,200 charity shops and 85% of goods sold in charity shops are from donations, according to the Charity Retail Association.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is one of Europe’s largest charitable foundations, providing advice, financial services and research to help people and companies give to causes they care about.

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