News and features

Mon, 8 Dec 2008

Success of charity shops stems from 'giving people what they want'

Good customer service has helped charity shops to increase profits, it has been suggested.

Charity shops have proven so successful in recent years because they have worked hard to listen to their customers and fulfill their wishes, a spokesman for the Association of Charity Shops has said.

David Moir, the group's head of policy and public affairs, suggested that other retailers - which have been suffering at the hands of the credit crunch in recent months - may do well to learn from their accomplishments in this area.

"Charity shops have gone to considerable efforts over recent years to modernise and respond to customer needs and demands," he remarked.

Profits from charity shops are up 7.2 per cent on last year, according to Charity Finance, with income increasing while costs remain the same.

Mr Moir's comments come ahead of National Customer Service Week, which gets underway on Monday October 6th.

Information on the event is available on the Institute of Customer Service website.