A hospice charity is closing its original store because of rising costs and changing shopping habits.
The Prospect Hospice branch at 110 High Street, Marlborough, Wiltshire, will close for good on 6 September.
The charity has 18 shops across Wiltshire and said it had to focus resources "where they can have the greatest impact on funding patient care".
While one of the stores on the town’s high street will close for good, the other branch at 130a High Street will remain open.
‘Not a decision we wanted to make’
Stuart Necrews, head of commercial income at Prospect Hospice, said: “We are so thankful to the staff, volunteers, donors and customers who have supported this shop over the years.
“Closing the doors is not a decision we wanted to make, but it is a necessary one to ensure we can continue providing outstanding care to local people at the end of their lives. The simple reality is that costs are rising across the retail sector.”
Necrews added that shopping habits had changed and the store was no longer profitable.
He confirmed that volunteers’ roles would not be at risk and would support the other store.
The news comes as an estimated four million fewer people are donating to charity compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Charities Aid Foundation.
Pressure from the rising cost of living has hit the number of people donating, according to the survey of 13,000 people, which finds that 50% of people gave to charity last year, down from 59% in 2019.
Other findings include just over a fifth of people saying they sponsored somebody for charity last year, compared with 32% in 2019.
Meanwhile, among 16 to 24-year-olds, 36% donated or sponsored somebody over the year, down from 52% in 2019.
