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Transforming How Primark Uses Digital to Complement its Stores

Creating a deeper level of customer engagement by leveraging digital touchpoints to enhance the in-store experience customers know and love

AT A GLANCE

CLIENT

Primark

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

commercetools

Salesforce

Fluent Commerce

Amplience

Bloomreach

SERVICES

MACH

INDUSTRY

Consumer

Primark’s stores are at the heart of its business. With more than 400 worldwide, 190+ in the UK alone, Primark is a finely tuned retail operation built around its stores, which provide customers with unparalleled experiences while shopping for design-led fashion and everyday essentials, all at the best value.  

Recognizing evolving consumer behaviors and expectations, Primark wanted to reimagine the digital experience for even better customer engagement. By creating a flexible and future-proof foundation, the retail leader could better leverage its already established online community and facilitate continuous enhancements to the experience in the future.

Digitally Transform, With a Continued Focus on Stores

In 2020, Primark approached EPAM Continuum for our integrated consulting and digital platform capabilities to help turn its omnichannel plans into reality. The goal was to build a new digital ecosystem that would deliver on Primark’s ambition to create digital experiences that are as unique and exciting as in-store experiences. Working in close collaboration with Primark, EPAM Continuum’s customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX) teams shaped key omnichannel user journeys, while our technology consultants worked to define a best-in-class, future-proof technology stack to support Primark’s future vision.

Tapping into Customer Research to Design Digital Experiences

EPAM Continuum’s CX and UX experts spoke to more than 30 current and potential customers. Through in-depth behavioral interviews, we focused on uncovering the relationship between online and offline shopping before defining the optimal customer experience. Our thinking was validated, and key decisions were supported through resonance and usability testing.

Give me the best of both.

Online convenience. Offline exploration.

We learned most shoppers actually do want physical stores to play a part in their experiences. They just want the best of both: Online to give them speed, ease and convenience and offline to give them enjoyment and serendipitous discovery.

Make it worth the trip.

Shopping as carefully planned me-time.

When everything is a click away, an in-person shopping trip suddenly feels more special – but it needs to be justified. Customers need assurances that their time will be well spent, and their efforts rewarded.

Give me the best of both.

Online convenience. Offline exploration.

We learned most shoppers actually do want physical stores to play a part in their experiences. They just want the best of both: Online to give them speed, ease and convenience and offline to give them enjoyment and serendipitous discovery.

Make it worth the trip.

Shopping as carefully planned me-time.

When everything is a click away, an in-person shopping trip suddenly feels more special – but it needs to be justified. Customers need assurances that their time will be well spent, and their efforts rewarded.

Implementing a MACH Architecture to Provide Flexibility

Through our vast partnership network, we engaged several partners – including Amplience, Bloomreach, commercetools, Fluent Commerce and Salesforce – to deliver the technology ecosystem that Primark needed. A MACH – microservices-based, API-driven, cloud native and headless – architecture was implemented by EPAM with selected partner solutions:

  • Amplience’s headless content management system underpins the tech stack.
  • Website search functionality and merchandising is enabled by Bloomreach.
  • commercetools serves up enhanced product and pricing information, as well as the basket and checkout functionality.
  • Orders and the “click and collect” service are managed through Fluent Order Management. 
  • Salesforce’s Service and Marketing Clouds provide chatbot and live chat functionality, as well as other marketing capabilities – from managing customer contacts and building customer journey profiles to enabling personalized communications.

This composable approach to technology architecture enabled Primark to meet several objectives:

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Future Proof
Creates the possibility to replace architectural components.
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Tech Debt
Minimizes the investment into legacy components.
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API-First
Enables digital business agility.
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Flexibility
Enables quick experimentation and independently build on the top.
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Talent Acquisition
Provides easier and more attractive modern tech stack.
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Insights
Ensures real-time visibility of customer insights to personalize or act upon.

Bringing the Uniqueness of In-Store to Digital 

New digital tools, underpinned by a new platform and associated operating model, engage customers online and drive footfall to stores.

This includes a new consumer website, which initially launched in the UK and is now in several of Primark’s markets with plans to continue to expand, featuring:

  • A new design language to better convey the Primark brand and values and visually bridge the online and offline experience
  • Greater visibility into the depth and breadth of product ranges to provide better clarity on what is available in-store
  • Enhanced, accurate product information with rich product imagery to support customer decision making
primark

Other features include:

  • Product ranging and stock information to help customers plan their visits
  • Data capture opportunities to deliver enhanced marketing communications
  • Chat and chatbot capabilities to better service customer queries

To further complement the omnichannel experience, a “click and collect” service was launched as a pilot in 25 stores in the UK, where customers can order online and pick up in a participating store. A modern in-store experience, optimized with digital touchpoints, facilitates in-store browsing, speedy collection and encourages additional purchases.

This includes a new consumer website, which initially launched in the UK and is now in several of Primark’s markets with plans to continue to expand, featuring:

  • A new design language to better convey the Primark brand and values and visually bridge the online and offline experience
  • Greater visibility into the depth and breadth of product ranges to provide better clarity on what is available in-store
  • Enhanced, accurate product information with rich product imagery to support customer decision making
  • Product ranging and stock information to help customers plan their visits
  • Data capture opportunities to deliver enhanced marketing communications
  • Chat and chatbot capabilities to better service customer queries

To further complement the omnichannel experience, a “click and collect” service was launched as a pilot in 25 stores in the UK, where customers can order online and pick up in a participating store. A modern in-store experience, optimized with digital touchpoints, facilitates in-store browsing, speedy collection and encourages additional purchases.

Impact to Date

The new tools have been a huge success. In part due to enhancements in its digital experience, Primark has seen an increase in traffic to its physical stores. In-store teams have noted that the launch of the new site and stock availability features have enabled them to better support customers with questions regarding stock both in their own locations and nearby.

In the six weeks following the UK launch, in April 2022, the website saw:

60%+

increase in web traffic

15%

of visitors using the new stock checker feature

Additionally, the launch of the trial “click and collect” service received an over 95% satisfaction rating reported by customers. Primark has since shared plans to expand the trial to an additional 32 stores in London in 2023.

“Simple, clear, straightforward:
it has been designed with the user in mind.”

Primark customer feedback on the new experience

Making it Real

With an ambitious go-to-market timeline, EPAM Continuum utilized its experience and globally distributed teams to deliver on Primark’s digital goals within just six months. We helped facilitate new ways of working and defined the skills and expertise required to establish and grow Primark’s new in-house digital technology organization. Additionally, a nearshore delivery center (NDC) was set up to further support Primark in continuing to deliver on its ambitions, providing key skills, expertise and scaling capabilities to enable the evolution and enhancement of the company’s digital capabilities and customer offerings.

Primark is now fully embracing digital to create the connections and experiences customers have grown to expect from the retail leader, regardless of where they shop.

TECH STACK 

HEAR FROM PRIMARK

Paul Edney

Paul Edney

Technology Director, Channels

“EPAM Continuum helped us define a best-in-class tech stack and customer experience, kept us moving at pace, with quality and in extremely difficult times. They helped revolutionize our ways of working and supported us in building our own digital center of excellence. They were outstanding in their commitment and an inspiration to us all. They are a true partner and are considered one of the key success factors in our digital transformation."

Paul Edney

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