Morrisons has ratcheted up its focus on innovation with a new testing ground store in Preston as it attempts to inject dramatic retail theatre into its offer.
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The grocer today unveiled its new ‘lab’ store in Ribbleton, Preston, featuring new technology to speed up the weekly shop, a revamped café offer and an emphasis on better value bulk buys.
The store, seen as a breeding ground for new ideas, features swift ‘tunnel scanners’ on each till to speed up the checkout process. It also features TV screens advertising brands and an on-screen recipe advisor in the produce department.
In the store, which carries the strapline “Preston Deepdale - food retail warehouse”, Morrisons has ditched the ‘misty veg’ synonymous with its Fresh Format stores in favour of produce watered with small hoses in an area named ‘from the Garden’. The broad range of produce is laid out on low level fixtures across the light, American-style supermarket.
The 39,000 sq ft store’s café, called The Eatery, has an ‘Argos’-style queuing system with tickets and a wood fired pizza oven.
Morrisons has devised a new system whereby its fresh meat, chilled and frozen products are replenished from chilled corridors running behind each aisle, allowing the retailer to cut visits to the warehouse as it aims for 100% availability.
Customers are met by a small ‘Grab and Go’offer which allows shoppers to buy lunch products and flowers, self scan and leave the store quickly.
Morrisons group manufacturing director Mark Harrison told Retail Week: “This is a lab store where we are trying out different ways to bring our vertical integration in store. We are trying to make the shopping experience less of a chore and make it something easy and enjoyable.
“It focuses on Morrisons’ core values of quality, value and fresh while still being innovative.”
Morrisons hopes the North west store can appeal to cash-strapped shoppers through bulk buy deals. For example, it offers shoppers the ability to buy a full case of products which would usually sit in the warehouse alongside individual items at a discount.
Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips is battling to put a wretched year of slumping sales and leaked market share behind the retailer by reviving its core store experience.
The store, which has a significant ethnic minority local demographic, has a broadened world food range and more space given over to the category.
It also features a greater number of pre-packaged meat and fish but Harrison stressed its butchers and fishmongers will still be used.
Morrisons has put in additional managers on fresh produce in the store and reduced the number of managers handling ambient grocery.
Morrisons last month reported a 2.4% fall in third quarter like-for-likes.
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