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Industry News

Who needs to sell online? Not Primark, apparently

September 4, 2018

Though retailers are often told to embrace omni-channel retail or die, the fastest-growing retailer in the U.S. says it cannot afford to.

Retailers are scrambling to offer shoppers the option of buying online and having their merchandise delivered to their homes or held for them at the store. But not Primark, according to Business Insider. Though one can view the discount retailer’s merchandise online, one cannot click to buy it, period, let alone having it delivered anywhere. Offering such options would cost too much and would force the European retailer to raise its prices.

"The cost to support home delivery can't be supported with our price points," said John Bason, finance director of Primark parent company Associated British Foods, speaking to The Wall Street Journal.

Primark prides itself on rock-bottom prices that encourage shoppers to buy in bulk.

Citing data from AlixPartners, Business Insider notes that it is more expensive for physical retailers to sell online than it is in stores. Much of this has to do with the fact that 30 to 40 percent of apparel gets returned, and online returns are six times more expensive than merchandise that is returned to a store.

“The cost to support home delivery can't be supported with our price points”

Primark’s willful rejection of e-commerce in any form appears to be paying off: It is the fastest-growing retailer in the U.S., measured by year-on-year domestic sales growth — its year-over-year sales were up by 103 percent, according to the National Retail Federation. Primark has opened nine stores along the East Coast since its arrival in the U.S. in 2015.

By Edmund Mander

Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT

Commerce + Communities Today

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