Since shops were able to reopen on 12 April, our charity clients have been busier than ever.
We collect a lot of data at Boxmove and I'm aware that this data could be useful across the charity sector. This month we are sharing some statistics on the number and types of items we've collected since Shops reopened (England on 12 April and Scotland on 26 April). Our clients have access to these numbers for their own shops on a real-time basis ie. they know exactly what stock is arriving and leaving at all times.
You can view the original statistics here.
Since April 12 we have collected
12,663 items of furniture.
Weighing 350 tons
With a (conservatively) estimated retail value of £696,000
The most popular donated items since lockdown:
Sofa 1,925
Armchair 1,317
Drawers 1,142
Table 644
Cardboard box 638
Wardrobe 552
Shelving unit 514
Bag 492
Bed (inc. mattress) 444
Sideboard 444
Dining Set 429
Dining Chair 375
TV Stand 322
Coffee Table 278
Bed Frame 230
Cabinet 225
Lamp 222
Mirror 216
Picture Frame 183
Most common failure reasons
Note that these reasons are only recorded for a job where our van was unable to collect any items. If a shop booked us to collect four things and we took two, that is not considered a failure and so no reason is recorded. However, our clients only pay us for the items that we actually collect.
Learnings
Almost 8x more items were rejecting for being unsaleable than for having no fire labels.
Despite receiving a text message with a 90-minute ETA, the second most common reason for a job failing is customers not being at home.
Our clients shop staff are doing an outstanding job of verifying the presence of fire labels during the booking process.
The failure rate per item varies enormously. Highest risk items include:
Mattresses
Dining chairs
Ottomans
Beds
Sofas are higher risk than armchairs
Low risk items:
Televisions
Shelving units
Lamps
Picture frames
We work with over twenty different charities and have more than 25 vans operating around the UK so we see a good cross section of the industry.
If you find this useful and would like to receive these updates on a regular basis please email my colleague Alex Rennie at alex.rennie@boxmove.com and he'll add you to our circulation list.
