Recent Trends in Retail and Analysis of Primark

This report discusses recent trends in the retail industry and analyzes Primark, a multinational fast fashion retailer. It covers topics such as influencer marketing, technology advancement, buying behavior of consumers, faster delivery, focus on health and self-care, personalized retail experience, and tapping into new markets and channels. The report also provides recommendations for Primark to adopt better digital strategies, focus on innovation, and provide personalized shopping experience to customers.

CW1: Inquiry Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Trends in retail............................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the organisation........................................................................................................5
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Retail can be defined as a process of selling products and services to consumers which is
considered as the sale to institutional or business construction (Aleksina, 2020). A retailer
normally purchases products from the manufacturers in large quantities directly or by a whole-
seller, and then sell to customers in smaller quantities for earning profit. Retailing is defined as
the process of distribution of goods and services by a retailer and selling to customers for final
use. Retail is also refereed as a vehicle by which manufacturers sell their finished products to
customers directly. Primark is considered as an international retailer that provides with the latest
fashion, home-ware and beauty at best values and quality to customers. The following report
outlines about the recent trends in retail and analysis of the organization. The report also
discussed about the recommendation that company must follow for smooth functioning of
business operations.
MAIN BODY
Trends in retail
The retail industry has changed the shopping experience of people which redefine the way
retailers shop and sell in the changing modern world (Balas and Kaya, 2019). With the
increasing use of smartphones and social media in the recent years, the retail industry is going
with greatest changes. The habits and buying behaviour of customers has changed with the
advent of new technology which has made them altered their attitudes. With the growth of
internet facilities and with the us of smartphones, consumers have a wide choice with them then
before as customers can shop online and offline with new variety and collection. The recent
trends that Primark has experienced in their company and it is explained below:
 Influencer marketing – Influencer marketing is something different which helps in
promoting brand products and services by creating and sharing innovative and creative
content on Instagram, IGTV, TikTok which helps in building and fostering digital
communities. Marketing products and services by influencers help Primark in promoting
fashion products with the use of Instagram reels which results in more sales and growth
in the competitive retail industry (Chan, Lau and Fan, 2018).
 Technology advancement – Advancement in technology is considered as a competitive
tool which forces retail industry to bring changes in their working nature for better

customer experience and delivery of quality goods and services. It is technology that
helps Primark in giving both service and cost advantages to gain competitive advantage
over other rival competitor companies. Technology has taken over the online shopping
market on the top as it gives benefits to customers to choose products online and
purchase.
 Buying behaviour of consumers – With the changing marketing trends, the buying
behaviour of customers is changing towards buying products and services in the market.
Primark has to deal with the changing demands and expectations of customers as they are
shifting towards online purchasing which is more reliable and comfortable. Customers
wants product that provide value and satisfaction among them, so the company needs to
offer innovative and creative products.
 Faster or same day delivery – Most of the customers prefer to buy products online
because this helps them in saving their time and effort which results in high satisfaction
and loyalty towards the brand (Chmiel, 2018). Customers expect that Primark delivers
products on the same day when ordered or within one or two days for gaining customer
experience and loyalty with the company brand. This helps the company in increasing
their productivity and growth in the highly competitive market where most of the
companies sell same variety of products and deliver on the same day.
 Focus more health and self-care – With the COVID-19 pandemic globally, the
customers are now more focused on living a healthy lifestyle to get prevented from the
infection of virus. Consumers are now purchasing more healthy and hygienic products
which provides them value and positive influence that results in high growth and
profitability in Primark. Complete lock-down in the UK has raised the consumption of
grocery products because that is their basic need that they want to fulfil at that time and
circumstances (Ugli, 2021).
 Provide a personalized retail experience – Providing personalized shopping experience
to customers is increasingly important trend in the retail industry (Skačanová and
Battesti, 2019). Personalization in the retail industry helps in giving suggestions to
customers based on their location, taste, previous searches and order history. Primark
offers personalized experience to their customers by giving simple services such as chat-

bots, text messages, tele-based and online communications that help the company in
increasing customer engagement and updates on orders.
 Tap into new markets and channels – One important trend going in the retail industry
is emerging into new markets and create new channels for gaining more customer base
and market share (Gonda and Farkas, 2020). Technology has made it easy for Primark to
tap into international markets for accounting new range of customers and market share.
New technology has provided the company with effective digital strategy which helps in
attracting more customers for the purchase of goods and services which results in
increased sales and productivity.
Analysis of the organisation
Primark is a well renowned multinational fast fashion retailer brand that specializes in affordable
beauty and clothing products, owned and controlled by Associated British Foods. The company
was first opened as Penneys in Ireland, 1969 which now operates in hundreds of retail stores
across the globe. The company is known for its basic styles, small and affordable price tags, and
quick fashion in order to attract more customers with a large market share (Huysveld, 2020). The
company provides reasonable products to their customers which helps in gaining success and
profitability in the competitive market. There are certain trends in the retail industry that he
company needs to adopt for smooth functioning of business operations and for gaining high
growth. For acquiring more market share in the UK, the company needs to adapt effective
digital strategies to build strong presence online about the innovative and creative product for
increased sales. Digital marketing help the company in connecting with customers online with a
wide range of products and services that they offer (Ivanova, 2020). Digital marketing can be
done by e-mail marketing, You-tube marketing, Instagram marketing and so on which helps in
achieving high sale from customers. Primark can make use of influencer marketing to promote
the products and services which are available at affordable prices in order to attract more market
share and customers. Now a days customers prefer to buy products from online website which
saves their time and effort to go to the physical store. As customers are more engaged in
spending their time on Instagram, social media sites and other online websites, influencer
marketing plays an important role in attracting customers to buy products of the company.
Influencer marketing is a strong technique that helps in the company in gaining high success and
productivity in the market for attracting high customer base (Jin and Shin, 2020). With the

change in technology on a constant basis is considered as a major trend that Primark needs to
consider in the company as it helps in increasing the efficiency of products, systems and
services. Increased efficiency helps the company in reducing their operations costs and quality of
products which results in high growth and profitability in the retail industry (KIM and LEE,
2021). Primark has grown with the age of social media which helps the customers sharing their
pictures on Instagram and other social media platforms and feels proud. Technology helps in
increasing company's productivity and sales as employees feel easy to attract more and more
customers for the sale of product and services by creating innovative products for online and
offline platforms. Adopting to recent trends in the company can help in building a strong
presence of the brand in the market for attracting customers for buying the products from both
offline and online stores (Lim, Xu and Yu, 2022). In terms of communication and advertising,
Primark shines in the market for its talent to create a strong market presence with limited
resources. The company targets young customers by use of social media as they are more
engaged in that platform such as with store launching announcements and contests. Primark is
considered as a fashion expert that produces latest products to their customers at affordable
prices with good and effective quality. Providing products at cheap prices is not the only element
that help the company in achieving high growth but its ability to refresh its brand image in the
market is also considered as the major factor in gaining more productivity and profitability.
Primark does not have an online store, but it has a online website that consists of all the
information about the products and services offered by them (Lu, 2019). The company must
provide facility of online stores so that customers can buy products online which helps them in
saving their effort to go to the market place and easily can do payment through digital mode of
payment. Thus, technology plays a very crucial role in the market which helps the company in
achieving more market share and customers in the competitive environment.
Recommendation
According to the recent trends in the retail industry and for gaining more growth and success in
the competitive environment, it is recommended that Primark must adopts better digital
strategies to retain more customers in the market. By making use of digital strategies, the
company can build a strong and effective presence on online platforms which helps in creating a
presence of its quality products in all over the world (Mende, 2019). Retailers know that they
will face difficulty in attracting new customers as compared to gaining support from existing

customers, that is why it is recommended that the company must make use of celebrity or
influencer marketing which helps in gaining new customers in the UK and helps in attaining
more growth and market share for the company. The company must focus on producing products
that are innovative and creative so that customers gets attracted in order to gain more customers
from different market segments (Rao, Vihari and Jabeen, 2021). The company must also focus
on developing online channels for better display of products and services to their customers so
that they gain more sales and customer loyalty towards the company products. Primark must
focus on less brands and more individualism so that customers can portray themselves when they
wear clothes and uses different products. For expanding in more countries the company must
adopt better channels for communication which can be done by using technology which helps in
developing more customer base within the retail industry (Rossi-Hansberg, Sarte and Trachter,
2021). Providing a personalized shopping experience to customers is also considered as an
important trend which company must adopt because it helps the customers in getting full
information about the products and services which they offer. With the advancement of
technology in the company they can improve their communication between employees and
customers for giving best services to potential customers. To fight competition in the market, it is
important for the company to understand the changing needs and demands of the customers with
the changing situations and conditions in the market and than producing products that are
probably be liked by them. The company must produce quality products to their customers which
offers value and satisfaction among them while using it and this can be gained by innovating new
designs and features which is differentiated from competitors company (Shults and Bit-Savva,
2019). It is essential for the company to build effective communication strategies so that
different departments of the company work with full clarification and utilize the resources of the
company properly and optimally which results in reduced operational costs. For retaining
customers in the company for long period of time they must offer relevant discounts in order to
attract customers to get stick with the company's product and services. Customers want to
receive products on the same day and for this the company must provide products timely by
adopting better delivery services and train staff to offer better on door services in the market.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the following report that to gain success and growth in the retail industry it
is important for the company top adopt to the changing trends in order to achieve more

customers. Technology is very important aspect that companies for sustaining in the competitive
market and to achieve high customer loyalty and satisfaction by buying quality products. For
further growth considering different channels for promoting goods and services is important as it
helps in attracting a large number of customers. It is also been evaluated that retailers are a key
asset in the market which provides different variety of products to the customers according to the
latest fashion trends and home-ware products to the customers for achieving high profitability
and productivity. Thus, recent trends helps the company in building strong and effective relations
with different customers which enhances the performance of their employees and organisation.

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