Digital Business Report: Evaluating Primark's Digital Business Model

This report provides a comprehensive overview of digital business, focusing on the strategies and practices of Primark, a multinational company. It begins by defining digital business and outlining its advantages and disadvantages, such as increased visibility, customer communication, and enhanced productivity, alongside challenges like data security and privacy concerns. The report then evaluates different digital business models, including freemium, blockchain, e-commerce, marketplace, and on-demand models, considering their impact on cybersecurity and ethical issues. Furthermore, it analyzes the impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances, emphasizing how digital technology enhances customer experiences, manages cloud services, and drives digital reinvention. Finally, the report discusses the e-commerce principles utilized by Primark, offering a detailed analysis of their digital business approach and providing valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation. This report aims to provide a detailed analysis of Primark's digital business approach.

Individual Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1. Overview of digital business with advantages and disadvantages...........................................3
2. Evaluating new digital business model in terms of business issues which are cyber security
and ethics......................................................................................................................................6
3. Impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances with digital technology............7
4. E-commerce principles used by Primark.................................................................................9
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Digital business is trending nowadays. Every company want to have presence on digital
platforms. Primark is the multinational company which have its headquarters in UK. Company
deals in products which include clothing, footwear, accessories, bags, beauty products etc.
Primark is also known for their good quality of products. This report will give overview of
digital business and what advantages and disadvantages, digital business have. Further report
will evaluate digital business models which Primark is using to deal with business issues which
are related to cyber security and ethics. Impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic
alliance through digital technology will also identify. This report will also discuss e-commerce
principles which are used by Primark.
MAIN BODY
1. Overview of digital business with advantages and disadvantages.
Digital business:
Digital business means when technology is used to do the business activities which
include operations, manufacturing, customer services etc. traditional businesses are also using
digital platforms in order to increase their sales. IT has also evolved from last many years since
internet is becoming more popular in business and in individuals life. Transformation has
changed the manner businesses were doing their day to day activities (Luz Martín‐Peña, Díaz‐
Garrido and Sánchez‐López, 2018). Digital transformation is the blessing for companies because
it helps in increasing profits and also facilitate growth of company. Digital business helping
companies to adopt innovation in order to increase their market share and revenue.
Advantages of digital business:
digital presence:
This is one of the biggest advantage that business when going digitally will get digital visibility.
Having presence on internet via online stores, blogs, pages or social networks is helping Primark

in getting more visibility and increasing their sales channels. By seeing the advantages of digital
business there are some companies which are completely shifted form traditional businesses to
online business.
Opening contact channels with customers:
With the help of digital platforms company can also easily communicate with their potential
customers. Primark have many sources through which they communicate with their clients which
include social media platforms, emails etc.
Getting customers feedbacks:
This is also an advantage that Primark can get customers opinion through social media platforms
or through opinion polls on their products manufactured by them. Company will get to know that
customer is satisfied with their products or not and where there is the need for improvement. This
will help company in improving their customer experiences.
Helps in effective decision making:
Digitalization is helpful in getting knowledge and skills which helps in better decision-making.
Primark believes that through digital business, company can contact with customers easily and
which helps them in making better decisions.
Enhance productivity:
Through digitalization company got access to use technology tools which make work easy.
Primark use it effectively so that it can help in increasing productivity by decreasing costs. As
through advanced technology company can reduced various costs like operational costs etc and
that can increase their profit margins (Liu, Zhang and Li,2020).
Encouraging innovation:
Digital business helps in dynamic innovation which helps in getting knowledge about new trends
and opportunities available in the market. Innovation will help company in achieving their
objectives and also facilitate business growth.
Facilitating easy teamwork:
Digitalization is helpful in improving internal communication by opening various
communication channels. This will make teamwork easy because through digital transformation
team member will get facility of internal chat using technology. This will help in getting flow in
the communication which will reduce confusion among team members.
Better working conditions:

Digitalization helps in getting flexible working hours. Earlier teleworking was not flexible but
due to digital transformation employees of Primark got flexible working. Improved working
conditions reduces employee turnover rate and increase motivation among employees and also
boost their morale.
Disadvantages of digital business:
data security:
In digital business there are vast data involved which are to be stored. It can include private
information of the organization. Keeping the data safe is not an easy task and it is also quite
difficult. Leakage of data can cause huge loss to Primark and data can go in hands of criminals,
rival industry or other entities.
Complexity:
people don't understand all the systems of machines which they are using daily. Digital business
is based on doing business with the help of computer and advanced technology. Primark feels
that all their employees are not efficient to use advance technology for doing their daily job. If
any damage is cause in the electronic system than it can cause high costs to the company.
Social disconnect:
Through digital communication people can communicate with more people as compare to
contacting them with real which can lead to isolation or social disconnect. Human people should
contact with real because that will help in getting positive energy (Siagian, 2020). If employees
of Primark will communicate face to face with other employees than they can get creative ideas
which will help in their job. Lack of real life contact can also lead to mental illness.
Increase work load:
In the digital business, company end up getting huge number of emails daily which require
reading them carefully and also replying them. Emails also gets on weekend which means that
employees have to work on all days. Organizing digital data is not easy task which require huge
effort and time and that can increase work load.
Privacy concerns:
privacy has become the biggest concerns when talking about digital world. Primark is always in
the threat that company's confidential information can get leaked. Rival companies or criminals
can take information and post it online.

2. Evaluating new digital business model in terms of business issues which are cyber security
and ethics.
Freemium model:
when digital services are provided by company free of cost is called freemium. Under
freemium model company only give some part of services for free and not whole service. It helps
in increasing sales and facilitate efficient automatic process. Company should take care of ethics
when converting free services into paid services.
Blockchain model:
Blockchain model gives multiple benefits to the business. It enables trust, building
transparency and gives value exchange to the ecosystems of businesses (Digital Business Model
– How Digital Transforms Value., 2021). Primark uses this model because it helps in lowering
the costs, improvising cash flow and reduce transaction times. This model is helpful in tracking
assets from its origin to its purchase which ensures cyber security. It is made by combining
blockchain and digital technology which gives flexible digital business models. This model is
helpful in improving supply logistics and reducing risk of cyber security.
E commerce model:
Web is not made for the connection of computer only but It also helps consumers for
purchasing. It is one of the most used digital models. It is helpful in increasing online sales of the
company and which results in getting more profits.
Marketplace model:
Digital platform gives international market to the products of the company. Primark gets
advantage from this model because they get marketplace where they can sell goods to the
customers worldwide. It is the kind of online store which require less investment.
On demand model:
Now people can consume content online and traditional media like tv or radio is not able
to facilitate this (Kahre, Hoffmann and Ahlemann, 2017). Consumer can access the content via
online at different time period. Primark will use this model so that company can post content
related to their products on Internet and people can get their access anytime. Through this model
company will increase sales ethically because it will give product's information to the consumers.

3.Impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances with digital technology
Collaborative relationships is the type of relation in which two or more company for
accomplishment of common goal work together. Collaboration is a very crucial solution to the
problems of the Primark. Impacts of Collaborative relation on the business of Primark are,
Savings :
If Primark decides on collaborating with any other organization, it can help it saves a lot
of resources as the company only has to invest a part of the total capital of the project of
collaboration (Adaji and et.al.,2018).
Customer Base :
Collaboration increases the customer base of the company. Like if Primark collaborates
with a company which also has good amount of followers. Then Primark also gets the
preferences of those customers.
Utilization of Expertise :
Different company have their different fields in which they are expert. For example if
Primark Collaborates with an IT company it's can receive help in IT sectors and the IT company
can utilize the products of fashion of Primark.
Trusted Advice :
Generally advices are not easy to be accepted or applied by any company but when it
comes to the advices coming from the collaborating company Primark can think of considering
this advice as it can be trusted.
Capitalizing on Prestige :
Primark can use the companies prestige and can capitalize on its reputation and goodwill.
This is the reason why collaboration should be done after considering the background of the
company.
Strategic Alliance can be said as the arrangement between two companies for achieving a
beneficial project before both the companies can achieve independence. This is less complicating
than Collaboration as it is limited to a time and project. Strategic alliance through digital
technology can result in the following impacts,
Enhancing customer experiences :
With the help of digital technology a strategic alliance can integrate the data of their
customers and provide a more personalized experiences from the both the company's point of

view. For example if Primark makes a strategic alliance with a company, with the help of digital
technology customers can get a collective information of both companies on the website or page
(Bouncken and Barwinski, 2021)
Managing Cloud :
Digital technology provides the facility of cloud services in which the data can be stores
on online websites. In strategic alliance two companies can store their collective data on the
cloud services so that both can reach that from any location. This provides great flexibility to the
company like Primark which wants to make alliances with foreign companies.
IT operations :
Companies which are joined together in an alliance want their the IT services to be
alliance specific so that the main object of the company remains untouched and the company can
focus on the goals of Strategic Alliance of the company. This is a very efficient feature of
Primark as it reduces the risk involved in the Strategic alliances.
Digital Reinventions :
With the help of Digital Technology new inventions and idea can be developed for not
only the Strategic alliance but also it can influence the company to get to the next level of
inventions and use it for the advantages for their company. For example if Primark joins
strategic alliance with digital technology, if there is an introduction of new software or service
which shows good results in the alliance. The company can use it to their advantages and
implement the idea (Troise and Camilleri, 2021).
Employee Experiences :
Digitalization of the strategic alliances does not fulfil the goals but gives huge amount of
experiences to both the employees of the alliance. This can benefit a company like Primark
because the employees will as a result learn new skills of the digital technology and that will
prove to be useful for the organization in the future.
Collaborate and Communicate :
This feature specifically mentions the employees communicating skills through digital
platforms. In the alliance the company joins hand with another company. But the main
commination goes between the employees of Primark and the alliance company. This proves to
be fruitful in future for the company.

4. e commerce principles used by primark
User friendliness:
E commerce website should be easily navigated. Primark works on this, that the website
can be easily accessed by the users. Company have easy search options through which
consumers easily reach towards products which they want. Company's website also provide
complete information of products with pictures so that customers can understand the use of the
products. Company believes that if the product will look real than there are more chance that
people will purchase it. By adding attractive designing company can add realness to the product.
User friendly means which is used by consumer easily. Website should not be complex because
if customer won't understand their features then will not use it (Ismail, Khater and Zaki, 2017).
That can decrease conversion rate of company.
Emphasize on security:
Primark make sure that confidential information of their users will remain safe. Financial or any
personal information of users are never shared by the company. Payment gateway of company is
safe which is also the reason for good sales. As per the government rules also company is not
allowed to share personal information of customers with anyone. If there are any security issues
with company then customer does not prefer such companies.
Responsive technology:
Primark make sure that they have user-friendly website. Company does not use HTML coding or
big images on their website. Heavy coding also make website slow and that can irritate
consumers. Consumers can move to rival company if they face any of these issues. It is also seen
that technology makes work easy but if it has become complex then people stop using it.
Know the target audience:
Primark do research so that they can know their customers better. This help company in
designing such website which can be easily used by consumers (Weill and Woerner, 2018). From
research company come to know that what feature customer wants and what feature customer
don't understand. Company can make adjustments on the website accordingly. Company check
the buying patterns of the customers so that can give good customer experience.
Added search column:
Primark knows the importance of search column, so they had given the search option in the
starting only (Verhoef and Bijmolt, 2019). Company knows it very well that consumer will

search for the products which they want to purchase and for this reason they need search option.
Consumer will not go in every category and search for the product.
Proper product descriptions:
Complete product descriptions will attract buyers to make the purchase of the product (Park and
Mithas, 2020). The more attractive is the product description and more use of images or videos
than more company will get sales. Paying attention on the description of product can be helpful
in increasing revenue.
Consistent branding:
Primark do regular branding so that customers can come to know about their new products.
Branding will also help customers in getting knowledge about offers and discounts if given by
the company. To build strong customer relationship company should provide brand specific
colour, pictures or description.
Minimal layout:
Minimal design is the suitable way to focus on simplicity and removing unnecessary elements
from website. Minimal layout is not easy because company have to make sure that they are
giving all information but with minimum layout (Sousa and Rocha, 2019). Primark ensure that
they use proper colour palette, proper photos and sufficient content so that customer can get
complete information of the product. Sometimes company give so much information and post
many images which confuse customer and customers end up in not buying the product.
Efficient call to action:
The objective of the website is increasing the conversion rate so that more revenue can be
generated. Primark should focus on developing attractive call to action. When customers visit the
website of company then they must get what they want because if they will not get easily what
they are looking for then they can shift to the rival company. Primark should also use such words
or keywords which can attract audience.
Unique designing:
There is cut-throat competition in e-commerce sector and thus making it difficult for company to
stand differently from their rival company (Wirtz, 2019). Market is loaded with competition so
customers have many choice to purchase from it. Unique design will help company in attracting
customers. Through good design customer will visit company's website and browse with the
possibility to make the purchase. As the first impression is the last impression. So Primark use

unique designing which can give the customer effortless shopping experience. Company should
ass such component which can stop customer on website for long time because the longer time
customer will stay on website. The more chances that they will make a purchase.
Recommendation
By analysation of the above models and strategies used by Primark, certain
recommendation can be made in order to improve the digital business of the company. The best
way improving the digital business is through the introduction of Digital marketing campaign. A
digital marketing campaign of Primark would involve the execution of all the marketing
strategies across the digital platforms (Ilieş, 2018). By engaging the customers in the brand in
platforms such as social media, websites, emailing and also through pop up advertisement. The
main purpose of this campaign would be to increase the conversion rate of the products of
Primark.
CONCLUSION
Through this report it can be concluded that digital business is booming and company
have lots of scope if they opt digitalization. Digitalization comes with advantages and
disadvantage both. Report has discussed that Primark is the established digital business. They are
getting presence globally through digital platforms. Digitalization helps company in getting
effective branding and also knowing their customer feedbacks. Disadvantages are mainly related
to privacy concerns because leakage of private information can cause huge loss. Report has also
evaluated digital business models which are used by Primark in order to mitigate the risk of
cyber security.

Models which are used by the company are freemium model, blockchain model, e-commerce
model etc. report are also discussed impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliance
through digital technology of Primark. E commerce principles which is used by Primark are also
mentioned in the report. Company make sure that designing and content of website should be
perfect because website is the online presence of business and should be proper. Effective e-
commerce strategy can help company in increasing sales and generating high revenue.
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Online
Digital Business Model – How Digital Transforms Value., 2021. [online]. Available through:
<https://www.garyfox.co/digital-business-model/>