Morrisons Escalates UK Grocery Market Price War

UK supermarket group Morrisons has announced that it is going to be permanently cheaper with price r…

UK supermarket group Morrisons has announced that it is going to be permanently cheaper with price reductions on 1,200 everyday essentials, reinforcing its credentials as a fresh-led value grocer. The move represents Morrisons’ biggest ever price cuts.

The cuts, which average 17%, will span both own-brand and popular branded products which together make up most of families’ weekly shopping baskets. The latest price drops follow earlier ones on milk, fresh meat, fruit and vegetables.

Dalton Philips, chief executive of Morrisons, says: “Morrisons is now cheaper. We are cutting prices not corners. We are making great food even more affordable and, in doing so, giving more reasons for customers to shop with us.”

The permanently lower prices will be matched by unprecedented transparency on pricing by a British supermarket. In May, Morrisons will launch a new website, powered by mysupermarket.co.uk that gives customers the ability to view the pricing history of an item to reassure them that they are getting a bargain. Customers will be able to compare what Morrisons prices were before – and are now.

Dalton Philips adds:“We’re serious about getting cheaper and setting new standards in transparency of pricing. We want our customers to be proud of the products they buy and be reassured that they are cheaper. We have nothing to hide.”

The cheaper prices will be communicated to customers through a new marketing campaign with the strap line ‘I’m Your New Cheaper Morrisons’. Launch on May 1st, this is supported by multiple TV adverts as well as new point of sale signage in stores.

Morrisons is the UK’s second largest fresh food manufacturer and uniquely among the supermarkets, makes more than half of the fresh food it sells. It will be leveraging this vertically integrated structure to control to quality of products and to keep prices down, cost which competitors will find it hard to match.