wwhhhhhhhyyyy have charity shops taken to sorting clothing by colour?

[60andsomething]

I am a size 14. I want to look through what they have in my size. I want my size to be all together. I don't want to spend an hour wandering round 10 different areas looking for size 14 in every separate area.

Normal shops sort by colour because they have every size in every style, so you can choose the style you want, then go and find your size.

Charity shops only have one item in every style, so finding a style you like does not help. You need to find something by looking through what is available in your size

I just turn around and walk straight out, if I go into a charity shop nowadays and find this silly useless colour rail sorting. So all my money is going to the charity shops that DON'T do it

I think they think it looks nicer.

I was in such a shop last week and found it more difficult to find things so, like you, I left very quickly.

I agree, it's crazy, I give up looking

Oh I like this!

If I want a pink jumper, for example, I can just look at the pink section and see if they've got one my size. We obviously shop in different ways.

I know I don't want anything brown, beige or grey - so I don't have to waste time looking through that stuff.

I much prefer it. I never wear yellow or red so don’t bother going over to those sections. The one near me is sorted into sizes within each colour though.

I find a huge mishmash of size 14 clothes more overwhelming.

I prefer it, I can avoid the rails of colours I know don’t suit me rather than wasting time trying to find something.

I wish bra shops would hang by size, not colour. Might not look as pretty but would make finding a bra easier. Especially as they have about two in the whole shop in my size. The assistant said they can't stock every size. Well maybe they could stock more if they didn't have 500 bras in a 34B.

It's a ridiculous idea and I never get why they do it or who finds it easier to shop this way.

I don't want to sift through every rail to find something in my size. I want to go to the section for my size and look through stuff which will fit me. If I want a top in a specific colour I'll know if they have one when I am in the section looking at stuff in my size. What good is looking through all the red stuff to find a top I love which won't bloody fit me.

It looks nicer and they will have crunched the numbers to ensure they make more money displaying that way. If they thought more money could be made by displaying by size, that's what they'd be doing.

As a charity shop volunteer, I am also well aware that a size 12 is not standard and can ever vary hugely within the same brand (looking at you, Zara). And what do you do with the S,M,L,XL? One size? Continental clothing labelled as a 40 or 42?

I find a huge mishmash of size 14 clothes more overwhelming.

Agree. it's like a jumble sale. Most places where clothing is hung by colour have wee size cubes on the hangers so it's not as if you're having to check the labels on every item.

And that's another point - the number of people who cut size labels out of their clothes is amazing!

Keeps people in the store longer browsing!

They could always sort by size within colour?

Except some people will get fed up and leave. It's like in supermarkets when they move stock around. They think you buy more when actually a lot of people just buy less as can't be bothered to look for something that was on aisle 12 for years and suddenly is on aisle 28.

YABU. They need to attract people who wouldn't normally want to browse through second hand clothes and making the place look less like a jumble sale results in more cash through the till, supporting the charity they exist to serve.

YABU I really like it. There are only certain colours I will wear, I can focus on those . I don't want to see a jumble of clothes.

YANBU. I'm the same, I get fed up and just leave.

Even worse is when some shops don't even have the size cube on the hangers and so all the sizes are mixed in together. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea?!

I have a good charity shop by me for location ,prices and stock, however they only vaguely sort items and no size sorting whatsoever, they have loads of donated hangers, fine but haven't taken the size cubes off.
Id love to go in there and sort it all but don't have the time and not sure they'd appreciate it as it's been that way for many years.

as well as what the clothing is made of, washing instructions/dry clean only

I much prefer it. I can head to the colours I like and not have to trawl through the others. Also I think it looks more attracted than having a mixture of colours all over the shop.

I much prefer it like that. Seems very jumble sale like the other way around.

I agree with OP - much prefer BHF and tkmaxx as can go to category and my size
I go shopping looking for a new dress or cardigan - not going shopping looking for something blue or red!
Other charity shops I will just look at shoes or bric a brac and ignore the clothes if they are all colour sorted

I much prefer the colour approach. Sizes are always random so I can go straight to my colour and rummage until I get to roughly the right size as they're sorted by colour in it. My local store stocks by size and despite visiting weekly I've never bought clothes as its too mixed up so I find it overwhelming, like to maxx

Worked for a charity 25 years ago and this was introduced as a way to make the shops more professional looking, more cohesive. Using standard coat hangers not a mishmash of donated ones came in at the same time. People shop in different ways, and personally I prefer it because I tend to shop by colour. So if I’m looking for eg a new green top and find one I really I may buy it even if it’s a size up.

My favorite charity shop sorts by colour and then orders by size. For me, it's a perfect combo, I can just avoid the colors I'd never wear.

Sounds a bit like Lego bricks! From experience definitely sort by size, then easy to differentiate by colour. Trust me, I've done this both ways.

I really don't like colour sorted charity shops and I don't buy from them as a result. My local Sue Ryder shop has a much better system - a long rail of tops arranged in size order, same with dresses, jumpers, trousers skirts. I can go straight to the size 16 section and have a quick flick through the 14s and 18s either side too. Far more efficient.
There is a barnardos shop that has recently opened in a retail park and they have taken the colour thing to ridiculous levels - not only are there rails for different colour but different shades too, with dresses, tops, trousers etc all on the same rail. If I go in thinking I would like a new shirt, there are about 12 different places to look to see if they have anything in my size. I can't be bothered with that. Funnily enough, the men's section in the same shop is organised by type and size, a rail of shirts in different colours, arranged by size order.