Morrisons sales rise as price campaigns gain traction

The grocer said like-for-like sales advanced 2.5% in the 13 weeks to October 29, as like-for-like transactions climbed 2.1%.

Morrisons said it “worked hard” during the period to “limit the impact of lower sterling on imported food prices”.

Its rolling ‘Price Crunch’ initiative and new ‘Way Down’ campaign, which keeps prices lower for longer, both helped drive more customers into stores during the period.

The investments in price helped its core retail business account for 2.1% of group like-for-like growth, while the remaining 0.4% came from its burgeoning wholesale arm.

During the quarter, which was Morrisons’ eighth consecutive period of sales growth, the supermarket giant rolled out its new automated ordering system to all its stores.

Morrisons said the technology will improve availability and staff productivity over the crucial Christmas trading period.

The grocer’s chief executive David Potts said: “We are pleased with a further step up in our competitiveness and another period of positive like for like sales growth.

“I am confident our plans to keep serving customers better will enable us to continue the strong momentum of the year so far, into the important fourth quarter.

“As we work towards becoming a broader, stronger business, a new Morrisons is taking shape, built by our colleagues on firm balance sheet foundations.”

The grocer added several new ranges over the quarter, including home and leisure lines, and is focused on growing its premium own-label range Best to 1,000 items during the festive season – double that of last Christmas.