Abstract
Retailers in the U.S. are increasingly asking customers to donate to charity at their sales registers. This practice, known as Checkout Charity, is a form of Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) providing many benefits to retailers (Giebelhausen, Lawrence, Chun, & Hsu, 2017) and raising billions of dollars for charities (Coleman & Peasley, 2015). Despite the perceived goodwill of this retail practice, research suggests an imbalance between retailers and consumers, as Checkout Charity offers fewer benefits to customers than traditional CRM (Krishna, 2011; Owens, 2016). Using equity theory’s impact on prosocial behavior (Ross & Kapitan, 2018), this paper explores whether customers perceive an imbalance in the Checkout Charity process. Open-ended survey results show that customers are aware of Checkout Charity’s drawbacks and hold mostly negative sentiments toward the practice. Attitudinal survey results show that most customers prefer donating elsewhere and not being asked to donate at checkout. However, some are happy with the process. A regression analysis of factors known to influence charitable giving found that those who donate frequently have a relatively more positive attitude toward Checkout Charity. Research implications and ways retailers might use the practice to build deeper customer relationships are discussed.
Highlights
In response to the rising demand for corporate social action, U.S retailers are increasingly asking customers to donate to charity at the sales register (Hessekiel, 2017)
Referred to as Checkout Charity, this form of Cause-related Marketing (CRM) allows businesses and charities to collaborate for mutual benefit (Krishna, 2011)
Given the advisory for customers to not donate and the controversy over retailers asking at checkout, two questions arise: why do customers continue to donate; and, is there a way to make Checkout Charity less controversial? To answer these questions, this paper presents the results of two separate surveys
Summary
In response to the rising demand for corporate social action, U.S retailers are increasingly asking customers to donate to charity at the sales register (Hessekiel, 2017). Checkout Charity has raised billions for charities (Coleman & Peasley, 2015) and increased customer trust and loyalty for many retailers (Trimble & Holmes, 2013; Giebelhausen et al, 2017). Concerns exist over the social and financial pressures Checkout Charity places on customers (Krishna, 2011), and questions abound regarding its lack of accountability and transparency (Owens, 2016). Doubts have been raised about Checkout Charity’s ability to produce lasting social benefits, suggesting other forms of donation are more equitable and effective (Eikenberry, 2009; White, 2015)
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