The British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the UK’s largest classifieds platform, Gumtree, have this month partnered up to promote the wide range of items on sale in BHF’s nationwide furniture stores.
The partnership marks the first time that Gumtree, which has over 16 million unique visitors per month, has partnered with a retail outlet to help boost sales.
From this month, Gumtree will showcase high quality furniture available in BHF stores in the ‘for sale’ (https://www.gumtree.com/for-sale) section of its website in the hope that it will encourage shoppers to head to their local BHF store and purchase household items. This will help the charity raise vital funds for research into new treatments and cures for the seven million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory disease.
50 of the BHF’s 180 furniture and home stores will list items on sale in stores through the Gumtree platform, enabling local residents to see the bargains on offer nearby. From sofas and sideboards to mirrors and mattresses, the stores across England, Wales and Scotland hope to list up to 4,000 items per month.
In-store staff will be armed with smart phone technology to promote goods and keep listings up to date. All items will be sold on a first come, first served basis – so those keen to bag a unique piece of furniture or homeware should get down to their local BHF store pronto.
The partnership between the BHF and Gumtree will run initially for a year, although there is an intention to establish a longer-term relationship with even more stores across the UK taking part.
Alli Swaine-Hughes, Retail Director at the BHF, said: “At the British Heart Foundation, we recognise that people want flexibility in the way they shop and as a retailer we want to make the shopping experience they have with us quick and easy.
“We’re excited to add Gumtree to the variety of ways that people access our stores and hope that it will enable even more people across the UK to shop with us. Whether it’s in store, on Gumtree or via our eBay site, shopping with the BHF will help fund vital research to help beat heartbreak forever.”
Matt Button, Interim Head of Marketing at Gumtree, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer the high quality pre-loved items in The British Heart Foundation stores this level of visibility. This is the first time we have opened our platform to a retailer in such a way, and we’re very pleased it is for a fantastic charity that does such incredible work researching heart and circulatory diseases and potential treatments.
“The Partnership will help BHF reach the right audiences in-market for buying furniture such as landlords, home movers, students or people improving their home, reaching them at the right time and at scale to drive them in store.”