UK Edition
Morrisons is cutting prices on hundreds more products as it battles to tempt shoppers back through its doors after last year being eclipsed by Aldi.
The grocer is this week pushing through price cuts on 820 products on its shelves, taking the total number of products that it has reduced prices on this month to more than 1,000.
It said, on average, customers would be seeing savings of around 20pc on those products, many of which are cupboard essentials, family meals and fresh produce. It said it is also cutting prices of branded items including Dettol and Warburton's.
It comes as the latest push by Morrisons to lure shoppers into its stores, after months of losing out to discounting rivals Aldi and Lidl, which have been major winners in recent months as cash-strapped shoppers hunt for a bargain.
Up until last September, Morrisons had held the title of the UK's fourth largest grocer, but slipped into fifth position after being leapfrogged by Aldi – the fastest growing supermarket in the UK.
Figures earlier this month from retail analysts at Kantar found that Aldi's sales had jumped 27pc in the year to Christmas, whilst Lidl's grew 24pc. Morrisons, meanwhile, has proved one of the worst performing grocers, with sales down 2.9pc over the year, compared to 6pc growth at Tesco and 6.2pc at Sainsbury's.
However, there have been signs that Morrisons could be starting to turn a corner on losing customers through measures such as price cuts, with Kantar saying the grocer recorded its “best performance since June 2021” in December. Analysts at the research firm said this stood the retailer in “good stead for a return to growth in the new year”.
Morrisons has not, however, been alone in cutting prices in an attempt to lure shoppers through its doors, and in the run-up to Christmas, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl were all racing to slash the prices of Christmas dinner staples. Sainsbury's and Tesco both run a price-matching programme where they offer a selection of items at the same price at Aldi.
Official data last week suggested Christmas had proved tougher for retailers than many had been expecting, with retail sales down 1pc in December. Tesco chairman John Allan described the data as “very predictable” as inflationary pressures force more households to make cut-backs in the face of higher bills.
Morrisons is due to report its annual results later this week.