Primark in Southport was among stores affected when the company’s new click and collect website crashed minutes after its launch today.
Southport Primark, on Chapel Street in the town centre, is among 25 shops across the North West of England, Yorkshire and north Wales which are taking part in the trial.
The initiative sees only children’s products available so far.
Primark, which has 190 stores across the UK, said it was aware that customers were having issues accessing the site.
A spokesperson said: “It’s been great to see so much interest in the launch of our new Click + Collect trial.
“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.”
When accessing the site customers were met with an error message.
The trial marks the potential beginning of Primark’s embrace of online operations, although the retailer has no plans to launch an at-home delivery service. During the pandemic it lost an estimated £1 billion in sales as stores were closed and a lack of online presence meant it was unable to sell its stock.
Customers ordering online can select a day to collect their items, up to seven days in advance, and an order will be available for collection from their chosen store two days after it has been placed. The trial at present allows customers to place orders with a minimum value of £15 from its 2,000 children’s products.
Paul Marchant, chief executive of Primark, said the launch of the trial was “a very proud moment” for the company, adding that the retailer’s approach to online shopping “is all about supporting and complementing our stores, which will always be at the heart of our business”.
The stores are taking part in the trial are:
- Birkenhead, Grange Road, CH41 6EA
- Blackburn, The Mall Blackburn, BB1 7JG
- Blackpool, Bank Hey Street, FY1 4RY
- Bolton, Crompton Place Shopping, BL1 1EA
- Broughton, Broughton Shopping Park, CH4 0DE
- Burnley, Charter Walk Shopping Centre, BB11 1BB
- Bury, The Rock Shopping Centre, BL9 0ND
- Carlisle, English Street, CA3 8NX
- Chester, Foregate Street, CH1 1HA
- Huddersfield, New Street, HD1 2TR
- Lancaster, Marketgate Shopping Centre, LA1 1JF
- Liverpool, Church Street, L1 3AY
- Llandudno, Parc Llandudno Retail Park, LL30 1PX
- Manchester, Market Street, M1 1WA
- Manchester, The Trafford Centre, M17 8AS
- Oldham, Market Place, OL1 3AB
- Preston, Fishergate Shopping Centre, PR1 8HJ
- Sheffield, Meadowhall, S9 1ER
- Sheffield, The Moor, S1 4PA
- Southport, Chapel Street, PR8 1AE
- Stockport, Chestergate, SK1 1NT
- Wallasey, Cherry Tree Shopping Centre, CH44 5TL
- Warrington, Golden Square, WA1 1QB
- Wigan, Standishgate, WN1 1UP
- Wrexham, Regent Street, LL11 1RY
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