Primark finally set to launch online deliveries

Primark has said it plans to launch a home delivery service in Britain, four years after it made its first foray into e-commerce.

The retailer did not say when it expects to launch the service, but it has bought a warehouse in Sheffield from to enable it to ship products to homes.

The company said there was “opportunity for profitable growth” through home deliveries, which could help boost trade after Primark reported subdued sales following the recent hot weather.

Analysts said the decision to offer home delivery after years of resistance – including through the pandemic – indicated that Primark was facing major challenges from ultra-fast-fashion brands such as Shein.

Primark did not sell goods online until 2022, when it launched a click-and-collect service which meant shoppers still had to travel to pick up their purchases.

Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns Primark, said the fashion chain would “continue to grow click and collect and… will in the future offer home delivery in Great Britain”.

ABF predicts Primark’s UK sales will grow by about 1% in the fourth quarter of the year. But like-for-like sales – a key metric in the retail industry, which strips out the impact of store openings and closures – are expected to be “broadly flat” in the UK, and fall 3% across its global operations.

It said sales of autumn/winter clothing started later than normal due to the hot weather in the summer, but “trading was stronger when the weather cooled towards the end of the quarter”.

The fast-fashion chain is struggling to compete with brands such as Shein and Boohoo, as well as alternative platforms such as TikTok Shop and Vinted, and in July said it was lowering prices on hundreds of clothing items.

Retail analyst Julie Palmer said that “Primark has been playing catch up for years” and launching home deliveries “is as much about defence as growth”.

She told BBC News that “the real test” for the brand is whether it can make home deliveries profitable at the low prices customers have come to expect from fast fashion chains.

“Shein and Vinted have already reset customer expectations on convenience,” she said, adding that a “slick and effective returns policy” will also be key.

ABF is planning to spin off Primark from its food business next year.