Primark steps up role of digital but holds back from transactional website

Primark has today revealed the latest stage in its digital strategy with the launch of its new website.

However, continuing to fly in the face of most ecommerce, the new site is not transactional and will be used to better connect the journey between searching online and then shopping in store. While the new website will add digital marketing and user accounts, it leaves third party sellers on marketplaces still the only way to purchase your Primark ‘must haves’ without visiting a physical store.

The new site features thousands of products from across Primark’s best-selling ranges, as well as a fresh design, enhanced navigation and a new feature that allows customers to check stock availability in their local store.

Launching first in the UK, before rolling out to Primark’s 13 other markets in the coming months, the website represents a shift in the role of digital within the business and recognises the critical role online can play to support sales in store, as it looks to drive footfall and reach new customers.

Primark.com will showcase a significantly enhanced proportion of Primark’s product ranges, bringing them to life with more imagery and greater product information. Product pages will house more product information and better imagery, with typically 3 to 5 images per product page using a combination of flat lay and model imagery. Visitors to the site will experience better search functionality and product filtering, such as by size and colour, which will allow customers to enjoy a better browsing experience.

As part of its digital expansion, Primark is trialling digital marketing to support the site. For the first time it will capture customer data to deliver more personalised marketing as customers will be able to create an account, sign up to receive regular news from the business and create a Wishlist of their favourite products.

The new site will result in the Primark brand and its product ranges being much more visible online when people are browsing, as it looks to make existing and potential customers more aware of what Primark can offer with the objective of driving more people into stores.

This launch represents an important milestone for Primark shifting the way we’re using digital to connect to our stores. We know that consumers today inform a huge proportion of their clothing purchases by browsing online. We see a significant opportunity to drive more footfall and more sales into our stores by upping our game in digital and ensuring that what we offer is more visible online. The new website gives us the opportunity to reach new customers who might not be stepping into our stores now and tempt them with the great products and value we offer.

– Matt Houston, Group Digital and Strategy Director, Primark

We know our new website is something that our customers have wanted to see from us for some time and we recognise we’ve moved later than most in this space. However, that brings with it an opportunity as we’ve been able to spend time understanding the role digital can play to enhance our business.The new site is underpinned by a modern and flexible technology architecture to give our customers the very best user experience. There has been a fantastic team behind this launch, which we’ve bolstered in the last 6-12 months by attracting some amazing talent into our new Digital and Digitech functions – which continue to grow. This gives us the foundation to bring our customers a continually improving digital experience in the months and years to come.

– Andrew Brothers, Chief Information Officer, Primark

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