Morrisons online sales continue to soar despite lockdown easing
Morrisons said online sales have continued to soar this year despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions.
In an update this morning the supermarket chain said online sales were up 113 per cent in the 14 weeks ended 9 May compared to the same period last year.
Internet sales helped boost group like-for-like sales excluding fuel up 2.7 per cent, while revenue including petrol sales increased 4.7 per cent as customers began using their cars more.
“During the pandemic there has been a renaissance of the supermarket in Britain and customers are enjoying cooking at home more,” the grocer said.
“Customers have also embraced shopping online, and both Morrisons.com and Morrisons on Amazon are now complementing our supermarkets well.”
Morrisons’ share price ticked up 0.84 per cent following the trading statement.
However, analysts said competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidl will be the biggest threat to Morrisons as the economy opens up.
“The reality is that if the German discounters are going to unseat any of the big four now, it’s going to be Morrisons,” said Freetrade senior analyst Dan Lane.
“Tie-ups with Ocado and Amazon will really need to start pulling their weight and make it just too easy and too cheap to even think about nipping to Aldi.
“Tesco’s Aldi Price Match took a chunk out of the challenger’s market share last year – a sign that price is still a huge pulling factor for UK shoppers. If Morrisons doesn’t do something similar it’s in danger of slowly being overtaken over the next few years, even if management sees ‘meaningful growth’ ahead.
“Shoppers might have been forced to choose what was closest or most convenient during the pandemic. If low prices outweigh that as the economy opens back up, Morrisons market share could slip away.”