Thriftify charity shop marketplace makes UK debut

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 9, 2021

Thriftify, the online marketplace that connects charity shops with consumers, has launched in the UK, the Belfast-based company having made a big impact in Ireland.

The launch comes as more and more consumers are thinking about sustainability in their shopping choices, something that has boosted interest in the charity sector.

The three-year-old firm currently partners with 95% of charity retailers in Ireland, including Oxfam, SVP, Sue Ryder, Wessex Cancer Trust and Jack & Jill’s Children's Foundation.

It's not a retailer on its own behalf and doesn’t hold any stock. But it allows consumers to browse and buy a wide range of categories, including fashion, gifts and other items from charity shops.

It provides those charity shops with an online platform that in theory can allow them to get their products in front of the largest possible selection of consumers and generate the best prices for them. 

The company said that one of the major problems that charity shops have is knowing the value of the items they’re given to sell and also getting them to the consumers who would be most likely to want them and to pay the most for them. 

Thriftify enables all this, and the fact that it’s integrated into eBay, Google Shopping, Facebook Marketplace and Amazon also helps strengthen its business model. And this will get better later this year as it's currently also preparing to integrate into Depop (as of August).