Primark cuts prices across hundreds of items as competition intensifies

Primark has cut prices across hundreds of bestselling womenswear, menswear and kidswear styles as it pushes a new “Iconic Value” campaign aimed at convincing shoppers it is still the cheapest stop on the high street. The retailer has reduced prices by up to 29% in the push, which now spans 19 markets and, in some cases, applies permanently across the autumn/winter 2026 collection.

The broad discounting looks less like a short-lived promotion than a reset in how Primark defends its price image. FashionUnited said 26% of Primark’s fall/winter collection is being permanently reduced, with prices lowered by an average of 11%. That matters because Primark’s core advantage has always been visibility: shoppers can see the price on the rail, compare it instantly and leave with the item the same day.

The move comes as ultra-cheap online rivals press harder on the same customer. Recent coverage has tied the pricing push to competition from Shein and Temu, both of which have expanded the amount of low-cost fashion sitting in front of budget-conscious shoppers on their phones. A BBC report said some shoppers have shifted to Shein, while others still stick with Primark because they prefer browsing in store and taking items home immediately.

Primark’s answer is to double down on the very thing that made it a value giant in the first place. Primark corporate says the new push is part of a new era of “Iconic Value,” with lower prices across hundreds of favourites rather than a narrow set of headline deals. The company is also adding more digital flexibility: it has launched click-and-collect in Great Britain, a notable shift for a chain that long treated the shop floor as its main competitive weapon.

That tension was visible years ago, when UBS analysts said in 2020 that Primark could survive without an online shopping platform, summing up the logic as “No online, no problem.” The chain is now having to prove that a store-first model can still win when online-only fast fashion can undercut prices at speed and reach shoppers who may never step into a branch.

The economics of fast fashion are changing with it. Primark is no longer relying only on volume and footfall to signal value; it is using visible, across-the-board cuts on everyday apparel to keep the bargain narrative intact as the cost-of-living squeeze makes every pound count.