I find it quite demoralising in store - why I do all my shopping online
After Primark announced plans for home delivery, we hear from women who never go into clothes stores.
Key points
- Primark plans to launch home delivery in Britain after years without online shopping.
- Online sales made up 27.3% of UK retail in August, up from 18.1% in 2019.
- Shoppers cite poor in-store sizing, overstimulation and physical difficulties as reasons to buy online.
Primark has bought a warehouse in Sheffield as it prepares to launch a home delivery service in Britain, after years of not offering online shopping. The retailer has not said when the service will start. It previously launched click-and-collect in 2022, but customers still had to travel to stores.
The move comes as online shopping continues to grow. Online accounted for 27.3% of all retail sales in August this year, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 18.1% in August 2019. Analysts say Primark faces major challenges from ultra-fast-fashion brands such as Shein.
Why shoppers avoid stores
Jess, a 29-year-old culture journalist and author from Peterborough, said in-store sizing is unreliable and demoralising for plus-size women. She said the average UK woman is a size 14 or 16 and many people do not feel seen or represented. She finds online shopping quicker than driving, paying for parking and trying things on, and says posting returns is less hassle than going to a store.
Julia Mitchell, 32, a content creator near Chichester, finds in-person clothes shopping overstimulating and says better bargains are available online. She mostly buys second-hand from Vinted but never buys books online, calling bookshops cultural and community spaces. Sandra Davies, 61, from Sheffield, shops entirely online after three strokes; she said standing in a queue for over 10 minutes twice caused her to collapse.
The sizing in store is notoriously bad. I find it quite demoralising in store
— Jess
Returns and competition
Retail analyst Julie Palmer said Primark has recognised that online sales bring scale. She said a returns policy can make or break a shop, and that shoppers want returns to be free, simple and quick, with a generous window, many drop-off options and refunds within days. She said Primark must match hassle-free returns to compete.
Palmer said returns are expensive for retailers, and some, like Asos, charge a fee for frequent returns. She called this a balancing act because a fee can push customers to a competitor. Most retailers that charge still offer free returns in store, which she said is a deliberate way to get people through the door and spending again.
