Eight in ten (79 per cent) Brits believe that retailers should be doing more to support UK charities, new research shows.

The findings, from social enterprise Give as you Live, show that UK consumers increasingly perceive retailers as lacking in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) credentials and are urging them to do more to help UK charities.

Moreover, nearly half (49 per cent) of us would spend more money with a retailer, if they donated to a charity, whilst 83 per cent of Britons said they‘d like to select the charity that the retailer donates to. There are now 160,000 charities in the UK according to Charity Choice, who provide different ways to give to different causes.

The survey asked over 2,000 Britons about retailers‘ CSR activities and its impact on customer loyalty and spending, and found the majority of Britons (86 per cent) said that supporting charity would give one retailer the edge over one who does not – meaning that the charity-supporting retailer is more likely to get their business.

The majority (85 per cent) of the younger generation (those aged 16-24) are far more likely to be influenced by the charitable side of retailers. The least likely to be influenced are the over 55s, with only 71 per cent of respondents saying a retailers CSR initiatives would influence their purchasing behaviour. More women (83 per cent) than men (72 per cent) believed that retailers should be doing more for charity.

Polly Gowers OBE, CEO and Founder of Give as you Live, commented: “These survey findings send a very strong message to retailers in the UK. Not only do shoppers want to see retailers support charities, the perception that retailers are giving back to society actually impacts a shopper‘s loyalty and amount they spend.”

She added, “Give as you Live offers retailers a unique way to support UK charities. When consumers shop online using our platform, a percentage of their spend goes to charity, which comes via the retailer as part of their affiliate marketing spend. This is an easy and simple way of ensuring that retailers can start doing their bit for UK charities and not just relying on the UK consumer to do all the heavy lifting.”

Give As You Live can be used with over 2,500 of the biggest online retailers from supermarkets to travel agents and is free for all charities.