Positive change

Unsold but not unloved: Why we believe there’s a marketing opportunity sitting in your unsold inventory

Sinéad Gray - February 2025

We asked consumers what they thought were the most effective ways businesses could make a positive difference to the issues they care about.

The No. 1 answer was to use their profile to raise awareness of important issues.
But second on the list?

Donating unsold stock.

Donating unsold stock doesn’t get much airtime in marketing strategies or communication campaigns, so it was initially a surprise to see it rank so highly.

Then again, in a world increasingly conscious of waste, aware of underserved communities, and feeling the squeeze of inflationary pressures, perhaps it’s not surprising at all.

It’s a simple idea. Relatively easy to implement. And it shows that you’re walking the sustainability talk.

And yet, when we looked at the results from the communications and marketing leaders when asked them the same question, ‘donating unsold stock’ didn’t make the top 5. In fact, it ranked bottom.

So why the mismatch? As marketers, are we not talking about this because ‘unsold stock’ feels a bit embarrassing?

But if it’s a reality of doing business in the modern world where demand can fluctuate unexpectedly, is there opportunity to turn this negative into a positive to connect with your audience?

We think there is.

If you’re a marketing or communications professional and you’re not currently considering a campaign that highlights what you do with your unsold stock, here’s 5 reasons why we think you should reconsider:

1. Consumers care: While it’s widely acknowledged that in today’s socially conscious world, businesses are under increasing scrutiny to take meaningful action on issues that matter to their customers, often that’s where the insight stops. We have data that shows UK consumers believe businesses should be donating unsold stock to make a difference.
2. Easy to understand: the redirection of unsold stock feels more tangible in consumers’ minds versus donating profit which can feel vague and raise suspicions of something sounding better than it is in practice.
3. Opportunity to stand out: this is an underserved area in marketing and communications campaigns and therefore presents an opportunity to stand out from the competition.
4. Cost effective: donating unsold stock doesn’t require making or creating anything new. If you’re already donating inventory but not talking about it, this could represent an easy win.
5. Immediate impact: sustainability initiatives can take time to demonstrate results, whereas unsold stock creates more opportunity to meaningful impact – and fast.

This data came from our Building a Better Business report. Download the full report here.

_{Image credit: The Pret Foundation donates unsold freshly made food at the end of every day to people affected by hunger, poverty and homelessness.}