Morrisons unveils online service that dares to be different

IT might be the last of the big four supermarkets to launch online shopping, but Morrisons has promised that its new service will be “unique” when it launches in the New Year.

Using the slogan “From Market Street to your street”, the Bradford-based retailer will offer a ‘virtual’ butcher and fishmonger allowing shoppers to pick the exact cut and thickness of their meat and fish.

Chief executive Dalton Philips unveiled the details of its £200m tie-up with grocery delivery business Ocado in a briefing to City analysts yesterday.

He said that Morrisons will offer one-hour delivery slots with off-peak slots costing £1, a standard charge of £3 and £5 for peak delivery slots.

The company’s new website and apps will allow shoppers to import favourite items saved on its rivals’ online shopping services.

Customers will be able to do a doorstep check of fresh products before they accept them. If they don’t like the freshness of the food, Morrisons will take it back and will take no payment for the item as well as sending a voucher to the same value within 24 hours.

The supermarket will open its website to customers in Warwickshire by the end of this year, with the first delivery on January 10. It will then expand to West Yorkshire in February, followed by London and South Yorkshire in the middle of the year. By the end of 2014, it aims to be serving 50 per cent of UK households.
 
“We are unashamedly a fresh food business,” said Mr Philips, who added that moving online, through a £200m partnership with Ocado, was “the final cornerstone of our multi-channel strategy.”

Morrison said it had customised the packaging of its fresh products, developing special packaging for its hand finished cakes, wrapping bananas in bubble wrap and cushioning mangoes in socks.

Experts from IGD Retail Analysis said of the presenation: “We left the session today optimistic about the potential of online for Morrisons. It is still at an early stage, and there remain important questions to be answered, but Morrisons has developed a proposition that reflects its key strengths.

“The retailer has also considered how to encourage switching – giving shoppers the chance to import their favourites from other stores simply and painlessly – removing a key barrier. This will be important in a market in which habits for many are engrained, and should accelerate progression of the retailer’s multichannel strategy.”