“Would you like to donate $2 to charity today?”

If you have been Christmas shopping this season, you probably heard this question — and potentially felt pressured to donate money in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

More and more stores now ask customers to donate money at the checkout. This is a practice called “checkout charity”, in which cashiers ask for a small charity donation just as customers are paying for their own purchases.

The strategy seems to work, given the fundraising success of global retailers. For example, in Australia, clothing retailer Cotton On raised about A$20 million in 2024 alone through checkout charity campaigns at its stores.

In the United States, the pizza chain Domino’s raised more than US$126 million (A$190 million) for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital over the past two decades by inviting customers to round up their bills and donate to this charity.

At first glance, checkout charity seems like a win-win-win: charities get funding, companies look caring and customers get a chance to do good.

However, recent studies overseas suggest there could be a potential dark........

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