Primark is investing in opening stores across the UK. This British fashion chain is betting on its rock-bottom prices luring customers as the country grapples with a cost-of-living crisis.

The plan contrasts with other retailers who have shut shops due to weak footfall and rising costs, while a shift to online shopping, accelerated by the pandemic, has also hampered store revenues. Exacerbating the pain from rising costs, footfall at UK retail destinations still remains 15 per cent lower on an average this year compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Even before the pandemic pushed more shoppers online, many high street retailers were struggling due to stiff competition from online-only brands leading to the collapse of household names like Debenhams.That saw Primark, which has shunned the extra cost of home delivery, launch a click and collect online service earlier this month. Although there was an uptick in UK retail sales in October 2022, driven by clothing, a bleak winter lies ahead and consumers are looking at how they can tackle the fallout from the cost-of-living crisis in their spending decisions.

There’s still little sign of early Christmas cheer for retailers. Online sales of textiles, clothing and footwear were down 8.4 per cent compared to a year ago and down 2.7 per cent compared to September, while department store sales online were down 6.8 per cent compared to a year ago and 1.7 per cent against the previous month.