Morrisons chief executive Rami Baitiéh has praised the “good headway across the board” the supermarket has made, after reporting an increase in both total and like-for-like sales.
For the period covering April 29 to July 28, Morrisons reported a 2.9% increase in group like-for-like sales excluding fuel. Total sales jumped 2.1% to £3.9bn in the quarter.
Morrisons also reported “strong performance” from its Nutmeg clothing brand, with like-for-like sales up 8% and back-to-school sales up 23%.
The supermarket giant made a “significant investment” in its More Card loyalty scheme in August and September, launching a rolling programme of over 2,000 card prices.
The supermarket also reported a two percentage point jump in availability, which it credited to its “AI-powered availability cameras” operational in 400 stores across its estate.
Staff pay is set to be raised to £12 an hour from October, representing an investment of £151m in employee pay.
The retailer said it continued to invest in Myton Food Group food making operations, opening a new £13m sardine processing factory in Cornwall during the period.
Baitiéh said: “Our focus on listening to customers, better availability and improving the Morrisons More Card has driven another quarter of good headway across the board. Like-for-like sales remained positive, the switching data improved year-on-year and although the market was noticeably softer in Q3, our relative position improved and our market share stabilised.
“As inflation reduces we are seeing customers increasingly valuing Britishness, provenance, quality and the love of great value fresh food, all of which is in Morrisons heartland. Our price competitiveness improved further in the quarter as our Aldi and Lidl price match, More Card offers and everyday low prices combined to give customers increasing confidence in Morrisons great value.
“Nutmeg, our clothing brand, was a particularly bright spot with like-for-like sales in the quarter up by 8% and record sales in both women’s and men’s clothing. Back to school was especially positive with sales up 23%.
“Availability improved further in the quarter, helped by the installation of AI-powered availability cameras in the majority of our stores. These cameras monitor on-shelf stock levels, automatically reordering where necessary and alerting colleagues in real time to gaps. This system is bringing down the in-day replenishment times significantly, which in turn is having a positive effect on availability, sales and customer satisfaction.
“Loyalty remains a key focus for us. The current quarter will be a transformational one for the More Card with the introduction of a number of new elements. In early September, we introduced a rolling programme of over 2,000 More Card Prices with very significant savings on every offer. We are also extending the breadth of the loyalty scheme with the introduction of More Card points on our Amazon channel. The next phase is to introduce the More Card into our convenience stores, which will start in October.
“Finally, I want to pay tribute to the whole team at Morrisons. It has been a tremendous effort over the last year to start the hard and detailed work that has set us on a positive trajectory. We are just getting started but the teamwork and positivity have been exceptional across the business and I want to say thank you to everyone for the part they are playing in the reinvigoration of Morrisons.”
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