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.
Jess Bacon, a 29-year-old culture journalist and author from Peterborough, prefers online shopping for all her clothes. She finds the sizing ranges in physical stores to be unreliable and demoralising. Jess believes many people feel unseen or underrepresented in-store. Online shopping is quicker for her, saving time on parking, trying items on, and potential returns.
Primark, one of the few High Street retailers that caters to plus-size shoppers, stocks up to a size 22. However, Jess is excited to soon have the option to shop there from home as the retailer plans to launch a home delivery service in Britain after years of not offering online shopping. While Primark faced challenges from ultra-fast-fashion brands like Shein, analysts believe the decision shows the retailer's need to adapt to changing consumer preferences.
Online sales accounted for 27.3% of all retail sales in August 2023, up from 18.1% in August 2019. Jess and other shoppers, such as Julia Mitchell and Sandra Davies, also opt for online shopping due to discomfort with in-person shopping and physical limitations, respectively. Retail analyst Julie Palmer notes that a retailer's returns policy is crucial for online success and that brands should provide free, simple, and quick returns to compete with the growing online market.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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