Primark to launch new website - and it could have a ‘click and collect’ option

Primark is launching its new revamped website this month, while also hinting at a new "click and collect" shopping option that would allow customers to order online for the first time. The new page will allow customers to see more of what items are currently in store. However the retailer has ruled out offering home delivery, saying that it wouldn’t be financially viable for the business. What will Primark’s new website include? The new web page, which is due to launch in March, will allow customers to see what clothes are in stores right now. This is a change to the previous site which only allowed a preview of what was in stores. Currently shoppers are using social media to get a sneak peak of the new ranges. The fashion chain also confirmed that customers will be able to check stock levels in their local store. This means its new site will allow shoppers to see what is available. Will there be a click and collect feature? "Click and collect" is where you order and pay for an item online to pick up in stores. Primark has yet to officially confirm if it will allow shoppers this option when ordering through its new website. John Bason, finance director of Primark’s owner, Associated British Foods, told Reuters: “We’re making the digital move forward in a very big way in both the UK and the rest of Europe. “That will generate sales and profits for us. Does this give us a capability to move further forward? Well let’s have a look at that. He added: “If there was an e-commerce opportunity for us, it will probably be more in the area of click and collect.” What has Primark ruled out? Mr Bason ruled out offering home delivery, saying that it wouldn’t be financially viable for the business. “You can’t get our value by delivery to home, it’s as simple as that,” he said. Primark is still adamant that it won’t begin selling clothes online. This is despite calls from shoppers for the retailer to start doing this during the Covid lockdown. How has the retailer been affected by Covid? The closure of non-essential retail saw Primark stores temporarily closed for months at a time. Its sales dropped to £650 million a month to £0 due to no online revenue. Primark said it will axe 400 shop floor jobs this year in its latest financial update published in January 2021. The move is part of an overhaul of its retail management team. The retailer warned sales at the time were 5% lower than pre-Covid levels in the same period two years ago. A statement said: "We are proposing to simplify our in-store UK retail management structure as part of our ongoing programme to improve the efficiency of our store retail operations." A version of this article originally appeared on NationalWorld.com