Demand for Primark’s New BOPIS Feature Crashes Site on First Day

Primark’s long-awaited entry into the world of eCommerce got a bit of a bumpy start Monday (Nov. 14) as heavier demand briefly crashed the Irish retailer’s website.

First announced in June, the trial version of the company’s new “Click and Collect” feature lets customers order items online and pick them up at 25 participating stores in the northwest of England, Yorkshire and North Wales.

For now, the program includes just children’s and baby clothing and nursery products, the company said on its website.

Earlier this year, George Weston, CEO of Primark parent Associated British Foods, said the program is a “significant business opportunity” for the retailer’s children’s wear section.

“We’ve got a very strong kidswear business but we’ve always been short of space,” Weston said. “We believe this will fix that space problem and give more shoppers more reasons to come to our stores, more often.”

Research by PYMNTS showed that consumers want in-store pickup options, with 34% demanding same-day pickup and delivery, while 9% of consumers said they use buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) services every day.

However, Weston has said he doesn’t think the company will make a full eCommerce pivot, citing cost factors and environmental questions. But he also said Primark would look at places where it could build on the program in other areas of its business.

Until now, Primark had been the only major British retailer not offering online shopping. As PYMNTS noted in June, the company hadn’t shown much eagerness about embracing eCommerce, despite taking a significant hit when in-person shopping went on pause during England’s COVID-19 quarantine.

Customers were clearly eager, however, with the company’s website crashing for a few hours Monday after Click and Collect launched, according to United Kingdom media reports. The website appeared to be online and offline intermittently Monday morning, Eastern time.

“We’re aware that some people have had issues accessing the website this morning, and we’re working hard to address this to ensure that everyone can access and browse the site easily,” Primary wrote on its site.

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