The Charitable Economy is Thriving

Point-of-Sale charitable campaigns are alive and well. According to America’s Charity Checkout Champions Report, over 77 groups with million-dollar point-of-sale campaigns raised $388 million in 2014, and over $3.88 billion throughout the last three decades.!!However, with advancements in technology, the continued rise of online shopping and current campaign saturation in the marketplace, how should we evolve this decades-old fundraising tactic to thrive successfully in 2020 and beyond?!

Consumer Preferences Offer Revelations

Catalist conducted an online consumer research study in April 2016 of over 1700 Americans aged 18 and older. !!Participants were of varying gender, geographic location, economic status and ethnicity. The margin of error associated with the total sample 2.5% with a 95% level of confidence. !!The Results: inspiring, thought-provoking and groundbreaking. To us, they unveil five key revelations that will fuel progressive charitable campaigns at the register.!!!

REVELATION #1:

REVELATION #2:

REVELATION #3:

REVELATION #4:

REVELATION #5:

Social Good is Still Thriving at the Register

Consumer Preferences are Sector-Specific

The Influence of Technology is Strong

Capture the Unengaged with New Opportunities

An Opportunity for Relationship Marketing

Revelation #1 Social Good Still Thrives at the Register

Consumers are still giving at the register, still like being asked to give frequently, and feel good about the retailers that are asking them to do so. So, let’s continue to build point-of-sale donation campaigns – but insist on putting

the consumer first moving forward.!

Consumers Have Become Accustomed to Giving to Charity at Register

72% of consumers have donated to charity at register!

WOMEN

MEN

75% have donated to charity at the register!

67% have donated to charity at the register!

MILLENNIALS GEN X BABY BOOMERS

69% 74% 75% have donated to charity at the register!

The majority of consumers have donated to charity at the register, regardless of age or gender. Although most of us are accustomed to charitable participation at retailers, there is a slight gender gap. !!Women well surpass men at register donations. This could be attributed to the fact that women are still responsible for the majority of household purchasing decisions, but men are shopping more too. Men increased their visits to all retail outlets except for grocery and drug stores last year1. However, their charitable giving at retail has not yet caught up to their gender counterpart.!!There are also differences amongst age groups. Millennial consumers donate to charity the least at register. Coming of age alongside B Corporations may have conditioned Millennials’ charitable giving expectations and interactions with social causes at retail.!!

Shopping Frequency Outpaces Charitable Giving at Register

66% of consumers have donated to charity at register within the last two months!

Two-thirds of consumers have donated to charity at retail within the last two months. While impressive, consumers do not seem to be donating at point-of-sale each time they shop. When considering consumer shopping frequencies at physical stores, consumers are giving about every other, or every third time they shop (depending on the type of retailer).!!•  More than 1 in 3 (36%) consumers goes to a

physical store at least one weekly2 !•  On a monthly basis – consumers buy products

with the same frequency online via PC v. In-Store (34%)2!

•  Within the grocery sector, shopping frequency at least once per week rises to 74%3!

!!

Silence is Golden 78% of consumers prefer to be asked to donate at the register electronically (via pin pad or silently via the bill slip)!

MILLENNIALS GEN X BABY BOOMERS

90% 81% 65% Prefer to be asked to donate at register electronically!

While gender preferences were virtually the same, a consumer’s age provides a direct correlation to how likely they are to prefer a pin pad donation request instead of a human solicitation.!!Only 1 out of 10 Millennial consumers prefer to be asked through an employee request, while nearly 4 out of 10 Baby Boomers still prefer a personal connection. This is certainly something to consider when shaping “the ask” to support your core customer.!!Still – the majority of consumers appreciate a fast and easy donation transaction at register. This could be in part attributed to the evolution of point-of-sale technology and the growth of mobile pay. With such advancements like biometrics, RFID, self checkouts, digital signage and advanced customer relationship marketing, retailers are now in a prime position to more efficiently host charitable checkout campaigns, and more effectively measure donor engagement, demographics, shopping behavior and community impact.!    

Revelation #2 An Opportunity for Relationship Marketing

With positive consumer sentiment soaring around the register, retailers can begin to look at these campaigns as a powerful tactic that could encourage

lasting relationships with customers.!

Build a Relationship, But Respect Boundaries

While donations at the register have become a staple in our retail shopping experience, they have mostly been revered as charitable programs rather than a marketing opportunity for the nonprofits and retailers involved. !!On average across retail sectors, consumers say they feel positively about the retailer after they are asked to donate at register. Qualitative studies reveal that consumers are actually thankful that the retailer has offered them the ability to give back to their community in a quick and simple way. Given these results, retailers could begin to consider charitable point-of-sale campaigns as a strategic addition to their relationship marketing plans. !!In addition to building strong connections with their customers, retailers are also increasingly concerned about maintaining a positive customer experience with them. While the donation transaction may make customers feel good, they want to leave it there. An overwhelmingly majority of consumers aren’t necessarily concerned about the impact the donation will make, or want to get more involved with that cause after they donate. Instead, they say a simple “Thank You” following their gift is enough stewardship for them when it comes to point-of-sale donations.!!!

58% of consumers feel positively about the retailer after donating

85% of consumers say a simple “Thank You” is enough (post-donation)!

4% 6%

5%

85%

Preferred Post-Donation Action

Give a discount Impact Notification

More Info from Charity A Simple "Thank You"

POS Drives Customer Loyalty

Keep It Simple

Revelation #3 Consumer Preferences are Sector-Specific

When examining various retail sectors, consumer giving preferences offer some similarities. However, varying degrees of consumer sentiment and

preferred solicitation frequency suggests that we as an industry should begin to consider campaign customization depending on retail sector. !

Consumer Sector Preferences Yield the Need for Consistency & Sector Expansion Consumers spend the most money in a given month at motor vehicle retailers, food & beverage products (including grocery), and food & beverage services (including restaurants) respectively in ranking order by volume4.!!When it comes to saturation, Big Box retailers account for the most charitable campaigns at register (24%), with specialty stores (20%) and the online sector (17%) round out the top 35.!!Whether it’s where they are shopping the most, or where they are more accustomed to seeing charitable campaigns at the register, their preferences offer us two conclusions: !!•  Continue traditional point-of-sale programs in their current form

at grocery and big box retailers. Consumers enjoy hearing about causes at these retailers and enjoy their frequency.!

•  With some of the highest sentiment ratings, Convenience Stores and Restaurants could be the next sector opportunity for your point-of-sale campaign expansion strategy. !

!!!!

1 2 3

SUPERMARKET

BIG BOX RETAILER

CONVENIENCE STORE

4 5 6

RESTAURANT

SHOPPING MALL

BANK

Where Do You Prefer to Give to Charity ?

Add on $1

Preferred method of giving at all registers

53% of consumers prefer to donate at register once per month or more!

Simply and Regularly Engage Customers

When creating charitable point-of-sale campaigns, there is a lot of strategic discussion around the frequency of the ask and the donation method. !!Since charitable checkout campaigns are so commonplace now, there is the perception that the market is oversaturated and consumers feel bombarded with solicitations. Quite the contrary for the over 70% of consumers that still donate to causes this way. They are telling us to keep asking – as much as once per month or more. The way in which we ask and how we allow them to engage seems to be more important to them than frequency.!!Consumers are clear on one main point regardless of sector, age or gender. They mostly prefer to add on $1 to their bill, as it is a simple action, low denomination, yet still significant enough to make a difference in volume. While only the third most preferred method of giving at register, we have seen an increase in campaigns offering the ability to add on a pre-packaged item (i.e. a meal for the hungry). Many causes like hunger can more naturally engage donors in this way. But, it is interesting to think creatively about how this tactic could work for the unobvious causes – something that could provide a tangible and immediate representation of impact.!!!!!!!

Customers Participate Often

Easy Engagement Option

60% of consumers prefer to be asked to donate at supermarkets once per month or more!

#1: Supermarket

64% of consumers felt positively about the supermarket after donating!

Add on $1 Preferred method of giving at supermarkets!

58% of consumers prefer to be asked to donate at big box retailers once per month or more!

#2: Big Box Retailer

55% of consumers felt positively about the big box retailer after donating!

Add on $1 Preferred method of giving at big box retailers!

60% of consumers prefer to be asked to donate at convenience stores once per month or more!

#3: Convenience Store

63% of consumers felt positively about the convenience store after donating!

Add on $1 Preferred method of giving at convenience stores!

50% of consumers prefer to be asked to donate at restaurants once per month or more!

#4: Restaurant

70% of consumers felt positively about the restaurant after donating!

Add on $1 Preferred method of giving at restaurants!

56% of consumers would prefer to be asked less than once per month or never at a shopping mall!

#5: Shopping Mall

54% of consumers felt indifferent or negatively about the shopping mall (or stores found within) after donating!

Add on $1 Preferred method of giving at shopping malls!

55% of consumers would prefer to be asked less than once per month or never at a bank!

#6: Bank

52% of consumers felt indifferent or negatively about the shopping mall (or stores found within) after donating!

Add on $1 Preferred method of giving at shopping malls!

Revelation #4 The Influence of Technology is Strong

Online shopping is soaring, yet consumers say they still prefer to donate to charity at brick-and-mortar registers. We see this as THE big opportunity to

watch in the future of charitable checkout campaigns.!

The Sleeping Opportunity: Charitable E-Commerce Campaigns Today’s brick-and-mortar stores process 95% of retail sales transactions6, so it is no surprise that the majority of consumers still prefer to give to charity through traditional in-store campaigns. However, nearly just as many consumers (48%) either prefer to give to charity via online register or don’t care either way – as long as they are able to donate. !!Online shopping continues to grow at the expense of in-store visits. Online Cyber Monday sales were up nearly 30% in 2015, while digital and mobile sales on Black Friday also jumped 25%2. With this growth rate and depth of donation indifference, we predict charitable e-commerce campaigns will exponentially increase over the next five years. !!Additionally, e-commerce giving peaks the increased interest of men over women, as well as the two youngest shopping generations rather than boomers. Since men are shopping more and Gen Xers and Millennials are gaining more expendable income, we could enjoy a spike in charitable e-commerce engagement preference sooner than expected.!!!!!!!

52%

38%

10%

Brick & Mortar

No Preference

Online

WOMEN

MEN

7% are more inclined to donate to charity via e-commerce outlets!

16% are more inclined to donate to charity via e-commerce outlets!

MILLENNIALS

GEN X

BABY BOOMERS

14%

4%

11%

More Inclined to Donate to Charity via E-Commerce Outlets!

Where Are You More Inclined to Give to Charity at Register?

Online Preferences Mirror In-Store While there may be a level of indifference or relatively little engagement preference in charitable e-commerce campaigns, the specific frequency and donation methods they enjoy online mirror those of traditional in-store preferences. !!What is perhaps more surprising to us is that nearly 9 out of 10 consumers do not want e-commerce retailers to offer them the ability to share their donation action with their friends and family through social media. On a similar level, this echoes their sentiment at only wanting a simple ‘thank you” post-donation at in-store retailers – not requiring or expecting additional engagement.!!Consumers truly see charitable checkout campaigns – on or offline – as a transactional experience with a societal cause. While true fundraisers and nonprofit marketers may have the urge to cultivate these micro donors, their preference consistency across sectors and commerce medium encourages us to be thankful for their engagement, and lower our expectation for continued interactivity.  !!!

Add on $1

Preferred method of giving at online register

88% of consumers do not want to share their action via social media after donating at online register

65% of consumers prefer to donate at online register once per month or more!

Revelation #5 Capture the Unengaged With New

Opportunities While your point-of-sale donors want to keep their relationship with your cause

at the register, the other 28% who never donate through these campaigns could provide your organization with new opportunities for volunteer

recruitment.!

The Unengaged Wants to Get to Know You

Nearly 1/3 of all consumers have never donated at the register before. Over half of them also said there is nothing that would make them donate in this way, and they would actually prefer to volunteer their time as a way of supporting your cause.!!

40% of all consumers who do not give at the register would like to volunteer for charitable causes instead.!!However, before you’re off to the races to present your next volunteer opportunity, consider first investing in marketing your organizational brand and mission to retail consumers. Not only will you capture volunteer prospects where they live (and shop), but you may also be able to convert a subset of these non-donors. Over 40% claim the reason they don’t give at register now is because they don’t know much about the cause that is soliciting their support. The “Unengaged” retail shopper actually wants to know who you are, and perhaps may become more intimately involved with your cause than the more traditional register donor.!!!

44% of consumers who do not give at register because they don’t know much about the cause asking for money

56% of consumers who do not give at register say nothing will make them do so!

Your Brand Is Important

Cultivate In Other Ways

24% of consumers say they would donate if the retailer matched their donation!

Consider New Opportunities

Sources:

1.  Nielsen – U.S. Women Control the Purse Strings - 2015

2.  PWC – Total Retail 2015: Retailers and the Age of Disruption

3.  Statista – Grocery Shopping Frequency of U.S. Households

4.  U.S. Dept. of Commerce – May 2016 5.  America’s Charity Checkout Champions – 2015 6.  NCR Corporation – Future of POS & Mobile - 2015

 

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