Superdrug has launched a new fundraising initiative focused on mental health awareness in partnership with charity Mind and micro-donation platform Pennies.

Pennies is a micro-donation platform which allows customers to round up their card payments to the nearest pound and donate the pennies to a chosen charity.

The platform works with retailers, payment providers and e-commerce platforms to integrate these small donations into online and in-store payment processes.

The technology is designed to make sure consumers in an increasingly cashless society can still contribute to charitable initiatives through digital payments.

Until 1st December, Superdrug customers can make a donation when they complete a purchase in Superdrug stores.

The initiative aims to help fund Mind's essential mental health services.

“Every donation, no matter how small, makes a meaningful difference,” Superdrug said in a post published on the company's LinkedIn account.

The company also celebrated World Mental Health Week at its Stratford Westfield store with another in-person initiative.

On 10 October, customers were invited to contribute to the retailer’s “wall of pledges” by sharing their personal commitments to supporting mental health and wellbeing.

This is not the first initiative organised by Superdrug to promote mental health awareness.

In 2020, the retailer partnered with virtual psychology service MyOnline Therapy during the Covid lockdown to boost accessibility to mental health services during the pandemic.

The initiative was launched in response to findings which highlighted an increase in mental health issues linked to social distancing measures during the Covid pandemic.

The move comes as a number of British retailers have launched initiatives to raise awareness of mental health for both consumers and staff in recent years.

In March last year, Next and FatFace contributed to the creation of a new AI-powered generative dashboard designed to improve staff mental wellbeing.

The companies joined forces with a handful of employers in the retail sector who have partnered with the charity Retail Trust to provide the new technology.

The dashboard allows retailers to monitor trends relating to the wellbeing of their workforce, which are then used to generate recommendations on how to improve engagement, reduce absenteeism or presenteeism levels, and increase staff retention.

The platform also helps identify recurring patterns in employee interactions with Retail Trust services and wellbeing surveys to provide an overview of staff mental health and useful insights, struggle with specific issues such as stress, financial concerns or workplace safety issues, and provide the financial value of wellbeing strategies.

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