Primark boss Marchant: ‘Click and collect is the culmination of two years of investment’

Two months after launching its customer-facing website, Primark has confirmed plans to roll out a click-and-collect trial in the UK.

The trial will begin in 25 stores in the North West and will largely consist of kidswear and other children’s products such as furniture.

Primark chose the North West due to its wide range of store sizes and types – from 13,000 sq ft in Wallasey to 150,000 sq ft in Manchester, according to Marchant.

Forty per cent of the products available online will be exclusive to click and collect, doubling the range of children’s products available by around 2,000 options.

“We started with kids because it’s a category where we’ve got real strengths and have strong market share,” Marchant told Retail Week.

“We believe we’ve got real potential to go a lot further than our current in-store offer enables us to. If you think about kids, it’s complex as it includes babywear, younger, older, footwear, accessories, toys – there’s a lot to fit in the store.

“Particularly as you work your way down our store estate in terms of size, it’s really challenging for us to fit the full assortment of kidswear proposition into the stores, so this enables us to make our small stores bigger through option expansion.”

Next steps

Marchant would not be drawn on how long the trial will last before being expanded to other stores and categories, but said that to inform its next steps Primark would use the initial trial to understand what additional products customers purchase when picking up their click-and-collect orders.

“Firstly, I think we need to understand what product categories the customers are responding to, and also when they are in store to pick up their click-and-collect orders, what else are they buying? Are those attachment sales within kidswear or other categories?” he said.

“We’re going to be placing the click-and-collect point into the heart of the store as we want the customers to experience the Primark proposition while they’re picking up their orders.

“Firstly, I think we need to understand what product categories the customers are responding to, and also when they are in store to pick up their click-and-collect orders, what else are they buying?”

Paul Marchant, Primark

“We also need to understand what returns look like. We’re offering free returns in store overall and our return levels of the business are relatively low compared to the average in the marketplace, but we do need to understand what happens from a return perspective.”

Marchant also confirmed that low-ticket items such as socks and underwear – which Retail Week previously reported would not be put online – will also not be available for click and collect.

“It’s a really exciting and significant step for us, built on more than two years of investment and transforming our core digital capabilities in store,” Marchant concluded. 

“We believe that this will give not only our existing customers the opportunity to buy more from us, but also attract new customers into the store.”

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