Customers of The Body Shop have raised more than £350,000 for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), through donations at its online and in-store checkouts.
Working with Adyen – which enables customers to make payments at The Body Shop and which matched the donations raised – generated a grand total of more than £700,000 for people affected by the war in Ukraine. These funds were raised in just six months as The Body Shop was able to rapidly switch its usual donation campaigns to focus on UNHCR.
The Body Shop has enabled customers to give across all of its ecommerce sites as well as over 750 stores globally. Giving enables The Body Shop’s customers to quickly and easily make charitable donations as they pay for goods both online and in-store. Adyen processes the transaction, ensuring that 100% of the donation amount goes directly to the chosen charity.
The data provides an interesting insight into the behaviour of The Body Shop customers, indicating they are highly conscientious and caring. Since raising funds for UNHRC, 8.6% of The Body Shop customers globally chose to donate. In the month of March alone, nearly one in five (18.7%) customers in France donated and in the United States it reached above 15%. From those retailers that utilise the Giving feature, Adyen has observed that an average of 5% of customers donate, clearly demonstrating the generosity of The Body Shop clientele.
Amy Liddy, Global Finance Director at The Body Shop says: “The response of The Body Shop customers to the war in Ukraine has been phenomenal. Our market insights have long told us that The Body Shop customers are more likely to care about the world around them, and this data indicates that they are also generous supporters of essential causes such as UNHCR. The charities we support receive 100% of the money raised and they can access the funds immediately.”
She adds: “We will always choose carefully when to present the option of charitable giving at the point of sale. Our experience is that the impact will be greater if the facility isn’t used throughout the year and we need to be conscious of ‘donation fatigue’. This latest data illustrates the power we can have when we switch this on.”
Colin Neil, UK Managing Director at Adyen says: “Without a doubt, customers in The Body Shop community are unstinting in their support of good causes. We are proud to use our technology to help charities get the funding they need. Through Adyen Giving, Adyen absorbs all costs related to donations – ensuring that the full donation amount makes it to the charity. It’s humbling when world-renowned retailers like The Body Shop adopt the technology. Especially when its customers are so generous.”
The Body Shop has a long heritage in supporting campaigns that seek social and environmental justice. Predominantly these are change-making campaigns which seek to introduce new or amended laws or policies in countries around the world. These include Forever Against Animal Testing, Stop Sex Trafficking; and The Body Shop’s latest campaign Be Seen Be Heard, its most ambitious campaign in partnership with United Nation’s that aims to change laws or polices to promote youth participation in public life in 75+ countries.
