Primark will trial a click-and-collect service in the UK, in the budget fashion chain’s first significant move into online shopping.
The high street retailer will launch the trial at 25 stores in the north-west of England by the end of the year, but said it would only cover children’s clothing and accessories, as the company – owned by Associated British Foods (ABF) – tries to draw more families into its stores.
“We have chosen a much-expanded range of children’s products for this trial, which we believe has the potential to satisfy unfulfilled demand, driving footfall from both existing and new customers to deliver incremental sales in store,” ABF said as part of a trading update on Monday.
Customers will be able to order from about 2,000 items online, including children’s clothing and nursery furniture that the retailer said would be “particularly attractive for our customers who do not regularly shop in our larger stores”.
“This trial will enable us to provide more fashion, licence and lifestyle products to more customers and more often. In-store collection will be available from designated areas, designed to be welcoming and situated in the heart of the store,” ABF said. Click and collect, and in-store returns, will be offered free as part of the trial, it confirmed.
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Primark has so far only used its website to give customers a preview of clothes on sale, and more recently to give shoppers information about stock levels in local stores.
The announcement came as ABF issued a trading statement showing that sales at Primark were up 81% over the 12 weeks to 28 May compared with the same period in 2021, at £1.7bn. Sales in the quarter were also 4% higher than the same period in 2019, before Covid and subsequent lockdowns forced its stores to close.
“The return of tourism and more office working combined with an improvement in the weather across all our markets was reflected in a strong customer reaction to our fashion ranges,” the company said, noting that a rebound in travel had also helped boost sales of luggage and holiday essentials including swimwear and beach towels.