Heart charity finds lockdown success on Depop, will expand activities

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 29, 2020

The British Heart Foundation said this week that its presence on fashion marketplace app Depop has helped it “reach a new audience of sustainable fashion lovers”. And it has “swiftly become a top seller on the platform” as the major charity faced a huge shortfall in its income due to its stores being closed during the lockdown.

As result, it’s “set to accelerate our partnership to help raise vital funds for research into heart and circulatory diseases and reach a new shopping community”.

The news underlines multiple current trends in fashion retail from consumers’ desire to minimise their carbon footprints through buying pre-owned, to the importance of peer-to-peer selling and the growing strength of the resale community seeking quality labels on a budget.

BHF has been selling a wide variety of pre-owned fashion pieces via Depop, including budget labels and luxury brands.

It’s in a strong position to access a wide variety of stock as it’s the UK’s largest charity retailer. It had a significant presence online already with its eBay store being the largest online charity reseller in Europe.

And it has been responding to the Covid-19 pandemic by continuing to expand its online operations. It’s also now training shop staff so they can list items directly onto the Depop app.