Soapbox Engage Blog

The fundraising world continues to change, and nonprofit organizations are changing alongside it. One major fundraising adaptation that nonprofits have adopted in recent years is the use of e-commerce stores to support online fundraising initiatives.

The e-commerce industry is growing exponentially, with sales in the U.S. projected to reach $1.34 trillion in 2025. While this underscores an excellent fundraising opportunity for your organization, it also highlights the need to stay up to date on e-commerce trends. Familiarizing yourself with and adopting these trends allows you to stand out in the industry, offer excellent customer experiences, and ultimately drive meaningful impact.

Nonprofit E-Commerce FAQ

Before diving into e-commerce trends, let’s answer some common questions about selling products as a nonprofit organization:

• What is nonprofit e-commerce? E-commerce is the practice of selling products online. Nonprofit e-commerce refers to the use of online platforms to sell goods or services as a revenue source to support the nonprofit’s mission.


• How can selling merchandise support a nonprofit’s mission? Nonprofits can raise funds and increase awareness of their cause by selling branded merchandise. Merchandise typically includes the organization’s name, logo, slogan, and any other important branded elements. These items give supporters a tangible way to show their commitment to the cause, fostering a deeper sense of community and engagement.


• Can nonprofits legally sell products? Some nonprofits worry that selling merchandise puts them at risk of losing their nonprofit status, but this isn’t the case. Nonprofits are allowed to sell products, provided the products or services sold are directly related to furthering their mission. If your nonprofit is likely to generate significant revenue via e-commerce, consider working with a tax expert to remain compliant.

Your nonprofit may be subject to product liability laws depending on your location. While your organization should be cognizant of these regulations, it’s a good idea to always prioritize safe, high-quality products. This will foster trust and satisfaction with your supporters, increasing the likelihood that they’ll continue supporting your cause.

Important Trends for Nonprofit E-Commerce

Here are e-commerce trends to have on your radar this year:

1. Convenient Shopping Experiences & Payment Options

Online shopping is all about convenience. Shoppers value the ability to find a product, check out in minutes, and receive the package at their doorstep—all without leaving home. Prioritize convenience in your online shop by:

• Offering flexible payment options. While credit and debit cards are still the dominant form of payment for online retail, many online buyers are moving toward methods like digital wallets, mobile phone apps, and cryptocurrencies. Accepting these less traditional payment methods increases your sales opportunities. Consider using tools like the Soapbox Engage Shop app that offer a wide variety of options for seamless payment processing.


• Ensuring your online shop is mobile-friendly. Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, sales exceeded $491 billion in the U.S. in 2023. Accommodate mobile shoppers by optimizing your online shop for mobile devices. The website should automatically resize to fit various screen sizes, and buttons, text, and images should be sized appropriately for smaller screens.


• Following accessibility best practices. Everyone should be able to access and engage with your online shop. Make sure your website is accessible to those with disabilities by following standard web accessibility guidelines.

Additionally, ensure the customer journey is simple and straightforward. Just as you would for your donor journey, put yourself in the customer’s shoes by starting at your homepage, navigating to the online shop, and completing a transaction. Identify any gaps or opportunities to simplify the process (e.g., trimming the number of required fields).

2. Trending products

After providing convenient, smooth experiences, selling items your supporters actually want to buy is one of the most important aspects of nonprofit e-commerce. Here are some of the most popular fundraising product categories to choose from:

• Apparel: T-shirts are a classic, tried-and-true product that supporters will always be excited to purchase to show their support for your mission. Consider branching out into other styles like tank tops, sweatshirts, and even sweatpants to give customers more options.


• Accessories: Offer tote bags that supporters can bring to the library or grocery store, custom hats, or branded water bottles. Customers can use or wear these items daily, keeping your organization at the top of their minds.
• Home: Create and sell a custom scented candle or offer branded blankets, pillows, or plushies to accent supporters’ homes.


• Office and school supplies: Like accessories, practical office and school supplies will remind supporters of your cause as they use these items daily. Offer items like pens, notebooks, sticky notes, and calendars that supporters will use frequently.

Remember to research products relevant to your particular niche as well. For instance, an animal shelter might sell branded pet products like beds, food bowls, collars, or leashes.

3. Personalization & AI

Many customers have come to expect personalized experiences, but this can be difficult to achieve on a large scale. However, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it possible to bring tailored, personal interactions to each customer.

Chatbots provide natural language interactions with online shoppers and can be an alternative to after-hours help desk representatives. For instance, chatbots can:

• Answer questions
• Suggest purchase options, including upselling and accessory items
• Resolve issues, boosting customer satisfaction

Chatbots can also collect customer feedback, helping you identify ways to streamline and improve the buying experience.

4. Sustainable Practices

No matter your mission, caring for the planet should be one of your core principles and top priorities. Keep sustainability in mind when planning out your shop. Many e-commerce shops follow environmentally friendly processes to lower carbon emissions, use recyclable and biodegradable packaging, and work with suppliers to secure ethically sourced products.

If you want to go above and beyond, you might infuse sustainability into each product or purchase. For example, pledge to plant one tree for each t-shirt sold or sell items made from recycled plastic bottles.

5. Engaging Promotion

You won’t sell products if supporters are unaware of them. Engage supporters with promotions via:

• Social media: Channels like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are widely popular, making them perfect for attracting large audiences to your e-commerce stores. Many social media platforms are even adding fully integrated e-commerce marketplaces and product search tools that you can use to advertise your shop.


• Email: If you share monthly newsletters or connect with segments of your supporters via email, promote your products and services there. Include simple, compelling calls to action that link directly to the online store.


• Video: Videos are more engaging than static images because they allow you to show your products from multiple angles, demonstrate how to properly use the product, offer troubleshooting tips, and suggest items to accompany the sale. Incorporate them into your promotion strategy and add them to your website or online store.

In these promotions, clearly explain how e-commerce will benefit your nonprofit and further its mission. For instance, you might explain that the revenue will fund your efforts to start a community garden.

6. Customer Incentives

Just like a donor, your customers want to feel appreciated for supporting a good cause. Showing your gratitude by offering incentives can boost sales and supercharge your efforts, pushing you over your campaign or year-end fundraising goal.

Consider setting up a loyalty program where customers can earn:

• Discounts
• Coupons
• Cash-back rewards
• Invitation-only sales

Implementing these changes is quick and simple for your nonprofit, and these efforts have been shown to improve customer retention, increase sales, and increase customer satisfaction.

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As you build your annual fundraising plan, get ahead on these trends so that your e-commerce shop is as successful as possible. Check out the Soapbox Engage Shop app for an affordable e-commerce store that integrates with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.

Not sure if a shop is right for your organization? Reach out to us to ask questions or schedule a demo.

Here are some more resources to help you on your fundraising journey:

• 10 Best Practices for Nonprofit E-commerce: Maybe this is your first time even thinking about getting an e-commerce shop, and you’re not quite ready for the new trends. If that’s true, check out this blog post with 10 best practices for a nonprofit e-commerce store, to help you get started.


• How to Write Product Descriptions for Your E-commerce Store: Product descriptions are one of the most important pieces of your e-commerce store. This blog post offers seven tips to help you write the strongest descriptions that are sure to help you meet your goals.


• 6 Ways to Make Your End-of-Year Fundraising Appeal Stand Out: Need more help to reach your 2023 fundraising goals? As you prepare to write your year-end appeal, check out this blog post that offers 6 ways to help your appeal stand out.