Primark Home Delivery Set to Launch in Britain

Primark has said it plans to launch a Primark home delivery service in Britain, four years after its first move into e-commerce, according to BBC News. The retailer has not confirmed a launch date but has purchased a warehouse in Sheffield to enable shipping products to customers' homes.

The company said there was "opportunity for profitable growth" through home deliveries, which could help boost trade following subdued sales after recent hot weather. Analysts said the decision to offer Primark home delivery UK-wide, after years of resistance including throughout the pandemic, signals the pressure Primark faces from ultra-fast-fashion brands such as Shein.

Primark did not sell goods online until 2022, when it launched a click-and-collect service requiring shoppers to travel to pick up purchases. Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns Primark, said the chain would "continue to grow click and collect and... will in the future offer home delivery in Great Britain."

ABF forecasts Primark's UK sales will grow by about 1% in the fourth quarter, though like-for-like sales, a key retail metric excluding store openings and closures, are expected to be "broadly flat" in the UK and fall 3% across global operations. The company said sales of autumn/winter clothing started later than usual due to summer heat, but "trading was stronger when the weather cooled towards the end of the quarter."

Primark is competing with brands including Shein and Boohoo, as well as platforms such as TikTok Shop and Vinted, and said in July it was lowering prices on hundreds of clothing items amid this Primark Shein competition.

Retail analyst Julie Palmer told BBC News that "Primark has been playing catch up for years" and that launching Primark online delivery "is as much about defence as growth." She said the real test for the brand is whether it can make home deliveries profitable at the low prices customers expect from fast fashion, adding that "Shein and Vinted have already reset customer expectations on convenience" and that an effective returns policy will be key.

ABF is planning to spin off Primark from its food business next year. Retail analyst Natalie Berg said Primark was "more than fashionably late to the e-commerce party," noting the brand will need to absorb higher return costs typical of online shopping. "Not even the pandemic could convince them to launch online, so the fact that Primark is making such a U-turn tells us just how much the retail landscape has evolved," she said.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said increased competition among delivery firms such as InPost and Relay has made shipping items by post significantly cheaper than in the past, when Royal Mail dominated the market.

Further information on Primark UK operations is available via Primark's official website and its parent company via Associated British Foods.

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