1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Boba Bom Here. You've seen it at 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: your local supermarket, department store, or even on your rideshare app. 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: You're asked verbally or digitally if you'd like to round 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: up your purchase to the nearest dollar, with the difference 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,920 Speaker 1: going to a charity. It may not seem like much 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,479 Speaker 1: to hand over an extra sixty three cents, so you 8 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: say yes. But how much do these charities collect and 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 1: is it worth it? Check Out charity, as it's called, 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: isn't just about community service and warm fuzzies. It's a 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: big business engage for good and organization devoted to corporate 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,480 Speaker 1: social initiatives found that in seventy six point of sale 13 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: fundraising campaigns raised more than six five million dollars in 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: the United States. Each of these campaigns raised at least 15 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: a million bucks. A viral TikTok video claimed that stores 16 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: can right off these checkout donations from customers on their 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 1: own end of your taxes, but that's simply not true. 18 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: These donations don't count as company income, so they can't 19 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: be written off. When a store donates from its own 20 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: business income, the company can write that off as a 21 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: charitable donation. Customers who donate to these checkout charities could 22 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: also write off their contributions on their taxes, but most 23 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: people don't as the amounts are so small. For the article, 24 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Work spoke with 25 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: Joe Waters, a consultant in what's called cause marketing, which 26 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: his blog Selfish Giving defines as a partnership between a 27 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: nonprofit and for profit for mutual profit. Waters said, what 28 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: companies are hoping for out of checkout charity is that 29 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: there's a halo effect and the consumers are going to 30 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: spend more with them because they view the company more 31 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: favorably and the tactics seems to be working. Of respondence 32 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: to a survey said that they felt positive about a 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: company after being asked to donate at the register. How 34 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: stuff Works also spoke with Michael Giebelhausen, a marketing professor 35 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: at Cornell University. In He and a team published a 36 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: study that looked at revenue at a national chain restaurant 37 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: following the implementation of a checkout charity campaign. They found 38 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: it had a statistically significant positive impact on sales. This 39 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: economic effect is something marketers call a warm glow. Everybody 40 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: wants to see themselves in a positive light, and when 41 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: companies give consumers the chance to engage in pro social 42 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: behavior like reusing their towels at a hotel to save 43 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: water or packing up groceries in an environmentally friendly reusable bag, 44 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: consumers walk away feeling good about themselves in psychological terms. 45 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: By donating to a checkout charity or reusing a hotel towel, 46 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 1: the consumer has earned moral credit. And once you've earned 47 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: a little moral credit, you have license to do something 48 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: that's not as virtuous, like spending money on something frivolate, 49 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: sorb unhealthy. Giebelhausen said, if your business is a vice 50 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,519 Speaker 1: business like fast food or candy, and it's a particularly 51 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: good combination, customers who donate feel good about you, and 52 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 1: then they have these moral credits that they can spend 53 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: on your products. Rounding up can even beat asking for 54 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: a straight donation. For nineteen days, and researchers from North 55 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: Carolina State collaborated with a local zoo. The zoo employees 56 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: asked patrons of its on site cafe if they'd like 57 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar for charity, 58 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: and the results were compared to the campaign that the 59 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: zoo normally ran, which asked patrons to donate an extra 60 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: dollar at the cafe. The study found that of patrons 61 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: agreed to round up, compared to only eighteen percent who 62 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: usually gave a dollar. The zoo also raised more money 63 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: during that nineteen day period. Check Out charity campaigns are 64 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: not without their pitfalls, though. The Waters mentioned a local 65 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: Austin grocery store chain that hit him up for a 66 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: different charity every time he came to the register. The 67 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: store employees didn't engage customers or bothered to explain what 68 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: the charity was all about. An option just popped up 69 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: on the credit card PINpad, and Waters felt pressured to donate, 70 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: he said, of those are the programs that people complain about. Indeed, 71 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: a study published in October two found that checkout charity 72 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: could increase a shopper's anxiety, with respondents using words like pressured, annoyed, 73 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: and concerned about being judged to express how they felt 74 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: about being asked only used positive words to express their feelings. 75 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: The researchers found that the anxiety quote can be relieved 76 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: when customers agree to donate, but only when the solicitation 77 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: comes from a cashier as opposed to an automated request 78 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: made by a computer or self service checkout machine. In 79 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: Waters experience, the checkout charity campaigns that work are thoughtfully 80 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 1: executed and integrated with the company these mission and client base. 81 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:07,359 Speaker 1: For example, in outdoor retailer Patagonia donated a hundred percent 82 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: of their Black Friday sales toward environmental groups and raised 83 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: ten million bucks, which is five times more than they 84 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: were expecting. Waters also pointed to the Month of Giving 85 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: campaign at the sandwich chain Jersey mis during the month 86 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: of March and only during the month of March, each 87 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: franchise location partners with a local charity and solicits donations. 88 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,039 Speaker 1: The campaign is capped by the day of Giving, when 89 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: the prose feeds from all sales made on March twenty 90 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: eight are given to the chosen charity. Today's episode is 91 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: based on the article checkout charity works if It's done 92 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: right on House to works dot com, written by Dave Ruse. 93 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff. This production of I Heart Radio in partnership 94 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: with how stuff Works dot Com and it's produced by 95 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit 96 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: the heart radio app Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen 97 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.