Budget fast-fashion retailer Primark has launched a new website which enables customers to check stock availability in their local store.

The company said that the new site was created to better connect the journey between searching online and shopping in-store, and represents a “shift in the role of digital within the business”.

Despite the new focus on digital, the retailer won’t be considering home delivery in the future.

Last month John Bason, finance director at Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods, told Reuters: “You can’t get our value by delivery to home, it’s as simple as that”.

However, he did say that click and collect would be better suited to the brand, although the company has not confirmed any plans to roll this out.

The new website includes 1000s of products from across Primark’s ranges, a new design, and "improved navigation".

It’s launching first in the UK, but will be rolled out across the company’s 13 other markets in the next few months.

“This launch represents an important milestone for Primark shifting the way we’re using digital to connect to our stores," said Matt Houston, group digital and strategy director, Primark. "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.”

As part of its new digital expansion, Primark is also trialling digital marketing to support the site.

It said that 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".

“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," said Andrew Brothers, chief information officer, Primark. "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.”

Share Story: