Associated British Foods said the chain will "continue to grow Click and Collect and, having undertaken a detailed review, will in the future offer home delivery in Great Britain." The company did not give a timetable for when home delivery will begin, keeping the pace of rollout and the scale of the first operations unclear.
The expansion follows Primark's initial foray into online retail in 2022 with click-and-collect, which still required customers to travel to pick up purchases. ABF set modest short-term expectations for the group, forecasting that Primark's UK sales will grow by about 1% in the fourth quarter, that like-for-like sales will be "broadly flat" in the UK, and that they will fall 3% across its global operations.
ABF also said autumn and winter clothing sales started later than normal because of the hot summer, and that "trading was stronger when the weather cooled towards the end of the quarter." The group is preparing for broader change, with plans to spin off Primark from its food business next year.
Primark has been lowering prices and faces intense competition from online fast-fashion rivals Shein and Boohoo, alongside alternative platforms such as TikTok Shop and Vinted. In July the retailer said it had lowered prices on hundreds of items.
Analysts called the home-delivery decision both defensive and strategic. Julie Palmer said, "Primark has been playing catch up for years" and launching home deliveries "is as much about defence as growth". She added that "the real test" will be whether Primark can make home deliveries profitable at the low price points customers expect, and that a "slick and effective returns policy" will be important.
Dan Coatsworth described the shift as proof the company "had no choice but to adapt to the modern retail world." He pointed to lower costs from a more competitive parcel market, saying it has "become a lot cheaper in the past few years to send items by post, compared to the old days when Royal Mail dominated the market."
The immediate challenge for Primark is operational: integrate the Sheffield site, control delivery and returns costs, and fit home delivery alongside an expanding click-and-collect network. Success will influence whether the retailer can convert the move into sustainable sales growth while protecting the low-price model that defines its brand.
