NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Retail Orphan Initiative RetailROI, in collaboration with IBM, has launched a national campaign to help retailers to raise money for charities at the point of sale.
Using an Auto RoundUp feature powered by IBM's SurePOS ACE retail software — which rounds up transaction totals to the next whole dollar — retailers can enable shoppers to donate change from their transactions to RetailROI's Round-up for Orphans campaign or other charities. IBM ACE software with Auto RoundUp is installed at more than 90,000 checkout lanes worldwide.
RetailROI's Round-up for Orphans campaign provides funding for orphan care — food, shelter and clothing, adoption, mentoring, and child rescue from human trafficking. According to UNICEF, somewhere in the world a child dies every 5.2 seconds, and every 14 seconds, an orphaned child ages out of a government protective system (if there is one).
A recent study by analyst firm IHL Group here, "Why Charity in Retail is Good Business," indicated that 65% of consumers say they are influenced to shop at stores that support community charity initiatives. Yet, only 28% of shoppers know if their community stores are actively involved in charitable giving.