Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-largest grocer, is preparing to spend GBP100m (US$157.7m) on a promotional push over Christmas to lure in the country’s cash-strapped and deal-hungry consumers.
CEO Dalton Philips announced the investment yesterday (15 November) as he outlined to reporters how Morrisons would look to attract shoppers in one of the most competitive periods in the year.
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“It’s tough out there. The consumer is feeling really bruised,” Philips said. “It’s going to be a tough Christmas but we think we’re well prepared for it.”
Philips said Morrisons would spend GBP35m on its Collector Card campaign, which gives shoppers GBP25 off a GBP40 transaction between 12 and 31 December if they present six receipts showing a GBP40 shop between the end of October and Christmas Eve. Morrisons expects 1.5m consumers to sign up to the campaign, up from a similar push last year, which attracted 1.3m shoppers.
The remainder of the GBP100m cuts will be through price cuts and promotions, with an emphasis on single price cuts, rather than multi-buy promotions.
The retailer said it had not asked suppliers for money to support the cuts. Morrisons manufactures half the fresh food it sells and commercial director Richard Hodgson said it was looking for “further efficiencies in our organisation”.
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By GlobalDataThe company declined to specify how much it had spent on similar moves last year but Hodgson said the amount was “significantly lower”.
Last week, Morrisons said its sales had risen by 4.6%, excluding fuel, in the 13 weeks to the end of October. Like-for-like sales increased 2.4%.
According to the latest market share data from Kantar Worldpanel, Morrisons accounts for 11.8% of grocery sales in the UK.
