Gail Wragg stands and surveys the scene unfolding around her. She’s at the centre of a sea of bin bags, shelving units packed with electrical equipment and also has the small matter of 800 artificial Christmas trees to sort. Like other retail workers, Gail’s shop store room is deep in the throes of getting stock ready for the festive rush.
But rather than a retailer looking to make big profits to satisfy shareholders, Gail runs a Barnardo's charity shop aimed at raising cash to fund the organisation’s work. She's been in the charity industry for more than 40 years and says demand is higher than ever as people can no longer to afford to buy new after a period of rapidly rising food, heating and housing costs. "Although footfall has gone up this year, donations have gone down," she explains.
"People come here because of the cost of living but they’ve also stopped donating because of the cost of living.” For customers, there are plenty of bargains on offer - with £15 covering the cost of a Versace handbag and even a TV for some canny shoppers. The increase in demand is a view echoed by Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association (CRA).
The body is the industry voice for charity shops and says 2023 saw “record growth” in sales. He says members have already reported "strong" shopping habits in the run-up to Christmas at the end of a year where steady sales growth of 2.9% had previously been charted.
“People are increasingly wanting to spend l.