Miss Amazon Smile? This Chrome extension makes online shopping feel good again
Gladly, the company behind the Google Chrome browser extension Tab for a Cause, has released a new tool to help shoppers save money while giving back to charity; Shop for a Cause (opens in new tab).
Across over 10,000 partner stores, Gladly’s newest browser extension will offer a charitable donation of up to 5% to its charity partners – all the while scouring the web for the best coupon codes to keep the cost of your order low. Better yet, the service is completely free, meaning users can spend, save and share at ease.
Shop for a Cause is already available for download on Google Chrome (opens in new tab) and Microsoft Edge (opens in new tab), and will alert you whenever you’re shopping on one of Gladly’s partner sites, letting you know at checkout what percentage of your purchase will go to charity and any savings Gladly has applied to your basket.
Amazon frowns
This comes in direct response to the closure of the Amazon Smile program in January this year when Amazon announced (opens in new tab) that it would be scrapping its charitable donation service in favor of “other programs [Amazon] knows will have more impact.”
While Amazon stated the program “had not grown to create the impact” the company had hoped for, Amazon Smile’s absence is notable on Amazon, especially for those who may have ethical and moral concerns when shopping online they’re seeking to counterbalance.
Amazon Smile raised over $450m for non-profits over its 10-year tenure, and while this seemingly wasn’t enough for the company to stand by the program, it’s no small amount.
While Shop for a Cause isn’t currently eligible for use on Amazon, its selection of 10,000+ stores presents an accessible means for online shoppers to make a positive contribution. With Americans alone spending nearly spending $1tn in online shopping every year, Shop for a Cause has the potential to make a huge difference for its partner charities.
Try being kind
By just opening tabs, Tab for a Cause users raised over $1.5m in the 10 years since the extension launched, with the community growing every day – a success story the company hopes to replicate in its latest browser extension.
In a statement, Alex Groth, CEO of Gladly says “small acts of kindness” in using the Tab and Shop for a Cause browser extensions have the potential to grow to be a “huge force for good.”
“With Shop for a Cause, we hope to make it easier for people to give back and make a difference in the world, one purchase at a time.”
You can download the Shop for a Cause (opens in new tab) and Tab for a Cause (opens in new tab) browser extensions through Gladly’s site today. The extensions work together, too, so you can effectively double your efforts by using both next time you shop.