TheRetailer_Autumn_2019

The £1bn opportunity for retail to make a difference

ALISON HUTCHINSON CBE CEO Pennies

ALISON HUTCHINSON CBE, CEO OF PENNIES EXPLAINS HOW ADOPTING MICRO-DONATIONS CAN BENEFIT BUSINESS, COLLEAGUES, CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITIES. 2019 has been a turbulent year for politics and economics across the globe – that much is hard to escape when we turn on the television, our radios or look at our phones. However, amidst economic uncertainty, people are keener than ever to make a positive difference – and they want to see businesses doing the same. We are seeing a significant rise in consumers and colleagues wanting retailers to demonstrate their own ethical agenda; seeking assurance that the places in which we shop, socialise and work are ‘giving something back’. New consumer research we commissioned this year reveals that almost three quarters of us (74%) believe businesses have a responsibility to do ‘social good’. And a third (35%) admitted to abandoning businesses they feel aren’t “ethical”. But we know that retailers share the power to help raise £1bn of untapped funds by making it easy for their customers to give as part of their everyday lives. Accumulatively these donations dramatically impact causes and communities important to consumers, colleagues and business alike. “Retailers hold the power to help raise £1bn of untapped funds for charity” First let me set this against the backdrop of current giving in the UK. Reported by the Charities Aid Foundation earlier this year, despite being a generous nation, fewer of us are giving to charities. CAF reported that the third sector has experienced a 4% decline in the number of people giving to charity over the past two years. There are many possible reasons for this, one being that we are living increasingly cashless lives. Payments and financial technology is accelerating at pace and making it easier for us to survive each day without cash – as we buy, socialise and travel increasingly “cashlessly”. As the BRC reported last month in its Payments Survey 2019, cash payments have dropped to third place behind debit and credit card spending, and direct debit cards remain the most popular method of payment, according to almost three in five transactions. The retail industry is responding enthusiastically – and there are any number of ways to pay with cards and digital wallets.

The net result is that we are carrying less physical loose change - that we might once have spontaneously dropped into charity collection boxes as we go about our day. I see it myself as I traverse the tube – charity collectors looking hopefully at us for some pennies. But they seldom appear. These pennies add up to millions of pounds each year – but this industry, as CAF reports, is being hit by cashless. However, thanks to that same pace of technology change, we all now have the capacity to make a difference – by harnessing the power of digital micro-donations. And by doing so, together we become part of a larger community raising millions for UK charities. This is what Pennies has been pioneering with retailers – and their payment technology partners - for over nine years now. Pennies is using fintech for good and an ecosystem that is driving the micro-donation movement. It’s a simple, seamless opt-in with one click or press of a button in-store, online or in-app. Retailers nominate the charity they wish to support and Pennies works alongside payments partners to enable an option to round-up or top-up a few pennies at a time - anonymously and simply

“Pennies is using fintech for good to create an ecosystem that is driving the micro-donation movement. With retailers at the heart”

Over 65 household retailers (as well as hospitality brands and service sector companies) have already joined our micro-donation movement and helped to unlock an incredible £20M for over 500 different UK charities. And customers’ pennies really do add up to tangible social impact – helping real people and communities every day. For example, in just two days, Carphone Warehouse customers are helping teachers to identify children who may be struggling with their mental health – using resources from the charity Heads Together. 10 days of customers’ donations at Evans Cycles funds a specially adapted bike for a child living with or beyond cancer. And five days of donations from Screwfix customers shopping online and in-app funds a vital repair project for a charity serving the local community.

20 | autumn 2019 | the retailer