Charity Retail Learning Blog
Here you can read about all things charity retail and learning related.
We love to hear from our students about your experiences of learning, of how it has helped your business and any other insights you may want to share.
If you would like to be a guest blogger on our site, just drop us an email or give us a call .

Three great ways beat the price increases!
Charity Retail Learning prices will be increasing slightly from April 1st. Our courses will still be great value – but here’s three ways you can get an even better deal. Subscribe Our subscription package gives access for all your retail staff to all the...

Shopping Sustainably – Saving the planet with good visual merchandising!
Kat Maclennan, Visual Merchandising Associate– The Charity Retail Consultancy Click here to learn more about our upcoming webinar: We're saving the planet! Using Visual Merchandising to tell your sustainability story - 19.10.22 | Charity Retail Learning Book a place...

All you need to know about COP26 and the intrinsic value of charity shops
It’s a fact: Charity shops are the most environmentally friendly retailers, both on the high street and online. So, we think it’s high time we made that known and especially during COP26 fortnight. If you agree, and want to shout about your green credentials but...

Connecting with our communities
By Jacob Miller. Retail Operations Manager at Hobart City Mission, Australia As an industry, customer experience and donor engagement are at our core. Without either, we fail to exist. The donors need to provide the product and the customers need to purchase it – but...

What we learned at the Charity Retail Conference
It was fantastic last week to be back in Nottingham at the Charity Retail Association Conference. After a really tough year for everyone, it was good to catch up, share experiences and celebrate all that our sector has achieved. We wanted to talk about some of the key...

Visual merchandising my vintage charity shop – by Gemma Kate Burgess, Barnardo’s
My name is Gemma Kate Burgess and I’ve been the manager of Barnardo’s Vintage (Barnardo’s only specialist vintage and retro shop) for almost seven years. My background is in commercial retail and I have specialised in visual merchandising and store layout. This...

Looking after your team on their return from lockdown – a free resource for charity retailers
It’s been a long year. In charity retail, as in all other aspects of life, things have been tough. As retailers we are used to being active, sociable and customer facing. The last year has seen for a large part our teams either furloughed at home or super busy at...

A history of charity shops
Jayne and Vicki were both very happy to join in with a brilliant virtual walk through charity shop history this week. Shopping for a cause The session was part of the brilliant Being Human festival and was presented by Dr Georgina Brewis, Associate Professor in the...

Equity, diversity and inclusion in charity retail – how we can make a positive change.
In the UK we've become much more conscious of the Black Lives Matter movement during lockdown, and many of us are aware of a rise in overt racism in society. Here at The Charity Retail Academy we decided that one of our first webinars must focus on how the charity...

How to make sure your charity shops have the volunteers they need post COVID-19
We speak to lots of charity retailers every day and unanimously at the moment, you are telling us that a shortage of volunteers is your biggest challenge. Since shops reopened, charities have seen a downturn in volunteer numbers as people are nervous about returning....
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