After decades of being proudly bricks-and-mortar-only, Primark is taking baby steps into the world of online retail.
The budget fashion retailer will trial a scheme that will allow shoppers to click and collect children’s products at 25 of its stores.
Analysts have said it is only a matter of time before Associated British Foods relents and launches online, but so far it has resisted as it fears this would stop customers coming to its stores. Since the pandemic, Primark has revamped its website but there is still no way for shoppers to buy products online, only to check stock at their local store.
Analysts at Barclays said: “This is a significant move, not just a toe in the water.”
However, Primark chief executive George Weston said the chain was unlikely to launch online sales for home delivery. “Deliveries have a high cost, the return rates are really high and they are environmentally questionable as well. We are a high street player,” he said.
