Despite a year in which the biggest financial crisis in decades took grip, many more consumers are digitally donating at checkout – and indeed plan to keep doing so. This is the reality being seen by micro-donation charity Pennies, and the conclusion of new consumer research, undertaken as the cost-of-living crisis was starting to bite in the late Autumn of 2022 in the UK.
We’ll be sharing more details of the full research in the new year, but as a teaser let’s set the scene and share some highlights.
1 in 4 giving less due to cost-of-living crisis
It’s fair to say it has not been a comfortable time for charities, as the sector struggles to return to the income levels seen pre-Covid. According to 2022 analysis by Pro Bono Economics, one-in-four of us are giving less to charity because of the cost-of-living crisis.
Respondents in our new survey (late October 2022) also told us they are now donating less often and or in smaller amounts, mainly citing the increased cost of living (69%) as leading them to reduce the regularity and amount of their charity donations.
Pennies is key to growth, and is growing
However, there is good news – and we all need a bit of that as Christmas races towards us. Pennies has actually seen UK consumers donate more in the last two years using our ‘digital charity box’ than in the first seven years following Pennies’ launch.
The trend suggests that the Pennies way of giving meets the public’s unshakeable generosity, even as we all manage tightening budgets and rising personal costs.
In fact, 73% of us still prefer to give ‘little and often’, over other ways of giving such as direct debits or one-off large donations.
There is also much for businesses to consider about the benefits of using micro-donations, and this likely reflects why we have seen so many more retailers adopt Pennies in 2022.
Our surveyed consumers told us:
- 44% say being offered micro-donations improved their perception of a businesses
- 21% say that being offered micro-donations would make them more likely to make a purchase from the business
- 92% of those that have micro-donated before said they particularly liked one or more aspects of the micro-giving experience, with the biggest positives being that it is an affordable and easy way to give
Micro-donations have the power to change lives
There is much to be positive about, for charities and micro-donations, and we’ll be sharing lots more of our new insights, as well as returning to consumers to see what they are feeling, throughout 2023.
We are excited that small, affordable giving – that adds to huge impact – still has the power to change even more lives in the coming months and years.
If you’re still shopping for loved ones this week, please do make a donation where you can and when offered. Even the value of a humble penny should never be under-estimated.
Be sure to have a wonderful festive break at the end of it too!
About the research
The Pennies winter 2022 survey was taken by 2001 respondents from the UK, nationally representative of age and gender. The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in late October 2022 using an email invitation and an online survey.
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