Charity shops are a ‘lifeline for high streets’

Many people see charity shops on a high street as a sign of a town centre’s decline. However, a new report from a leading national think tank says that charity shops act as a “life support” on Britain’s high streets, providing a number of benefits for local businesses, residents and communities.

There are seven charity shops on Stone High Street.

Demos says their in-depth study shows that charity shops keep people shopping on their high street and drastically reduce the number of empty shops, challenging the perception that they fuel high street decline.

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Charity shops are also in the frontline of the fight against unemployment, they say. Over 80% of volunteers stated that they were using their shifts as an opportunity to ‘skill up’, gaining retail experience as a path to paid employment.

Ally Paget, researcher at Demos and author of the report, said: “It is a real shame that the multitude of benefits offered by charity shops is so often unrecognised and under-used, especially in this time of austerity. Local authorities can and should do more to support charity shops at a business level, and to draw on the capacity of charity shops to spur local regeneration. Charity shops themselves must also do more to prove their worth by addressing negative public perceptions and highlighting the huge contributions they make to communities.”

Speaking on Radio 4 this week, Mary Portas said the reason that charity shops can do so well is because of the relief they receive on their business rates. She called on local councils to support local start-up businesses in the same way.

You can see the full Demos report HERE