It’s always good to keep the less fortunate in mind. But what if inflation and rising grocery prices have turned you into one of the less fortunate?
A new study finds that retailers’ time-tested method of having cashiers ask for donations at the checkout can backfire, lessening shoppers’ opinion of the store and contributing to a precipitous drop in donations – an alarming decline, in fact, as tracked by an organization that connects companies and causes.
The study, “Doing good but feeling bad: How checkout donation requests might backfire for retailers by eliciting negative emotional and cognitive consumer response,” is published in the current edition of the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.
“At first glance, checkout charity seems like a win-win-win: charities get funding, companies look caring and customers get a chance to do good,” the study’s authors note. Instead, “in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis,” shoppers “feel pressured, guilty, anxious and pushed into making a decision they did not plan to make.”
As part of the study, the researchers surveyed several hundred consumers, presented them with a checkout donation scenario, and asked them how they felt about it.
Many felt rushed and pressured, “required to make a decision quickly, often with a queue of shoppers waiting behind them, and in the presence of a cashier.” Others felt judged and shamed if they declined. Still others were skeptical about the ask. “The grocery store has a lot more money than I do. Why am I the one expected to make a donation?” one participant asked. “They are using the social construct of societal shame to coerce people into donating,” another skeptic said. “I’m not sure exactly how the stores allocate the funds,” a third shopper wondered.
Even shoppers who do donate don’t often experience the “warm glow” effect of doing a good deed, since many feel forced into it.
So “what happens when doing good starts to feel bad?” the researchers ask. When a checkout charity request prompts negative feelings, those feelings “need to go somewhere. They might be redirected to the retailer – or the cashier standing right in front of you.”
Survey respondents who experienced negative emotions when asked to donate were not only less willing to make a donation, but were less satisfied with their shopping experience, and more critical of the retailer who asked.
The combination of these negative emotions, and the financial strain that more shoppers have been feeling, could be behind a severe drop in donations in recent years. The group Engage For Good has tracked checkout charity for more than a decade, producing biannual reports on how much is raised. Each report has seen the number go up and up – from $358 million in 2013, to $749 million a decade later, more than twice as much.
But the most recent tally showed a sharp turnaround. Engage For Good’s 2025 report showed that $275 million was raised for various charities at retail checkouts, an all-time low since the group began tracking results.
“Despite economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behavior,” Engage For Good noted optimistically, “when giving is easy, emotionally resonant, and well-timed, people respond.”
The researchers of this newest study agree. It’s not how people respond that’s the problem, they suggest – it’s how retailers ask.
“Our findings suggest that stores should introduce information about the donation request early in the shopping journey using posters or flyers, so customers are not surprised at the checkout and feel less time pressure,” the researchers found. “Retailers can design payment screens that allow customers to choose privately, reducing the feeling of being watched or judged.” And they should be transparent about “how the money is collected, where it goes and what impact it makes.”
At a time when many grocery shoppers are struggling to pay the bills, it’s hard to feel generous toward others. But there are always people out there who are worse off than you. Lending a helping hand can feel good – just as long as retailers don’t make you feel bad in the process.
Image source: Food Lion
