Still no click & collect from Primark.

Despite a 30% turnover fall in the 16 weeks to December 2020, and a warning that the 305 store closures (out of 389 worldwide) would cost more than €1.1 billion, the British retailer Primark will increase prices but has no intention of selling online. Indeed, the retailer explained how e-commerce implies high operating costs and managing customer returns. Whilst the average return rate is 8% for physical stores, this rises to up to 25% for online sales and up to 70% for online fashion. According to the IMRG Association, 33% of retailers say they have increased their prices to cover the cost of online returns. In 2018, Next made an accounting adjustment to cover the increased cost of managing “click and collect” orders. The expense rose from £0.57 per parcel to £0.89. As Primark sells clothes at lower prices than Next, there is very limited profit from e-commerce operations.