Morrison’s Doorstep Deliveries

Morrison’s are helping our vulnerable customers get food delivered.

Orders can be placed before 4pm with an aim to get delivery the next day between 2-5pm.

There is currently a limit on how many orders can be placed with each store.

You must live within 10 miles of a Morrison’s to use this service.

Payment by card only.

You place your order from the list below, with a limit of 3 per item.

Products will be generic and based on store availability.

Everything will be fully explained when you phone to make an order.

Special dietary requirements will also be met.

Please – if you are able to go to the shops don’t use this service, it is for vulnerable/elderly/isolating members of our community.

An update from Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe

I wrote to you last week to update you on how we are supporting elderly and vulnerable customers with access to groceries online. I wanted to share some progress we have made on this over the past few days.

When I wrote last, we had offered 450,000 elderly and vulnerable customers priority booking to online delivery. At the end of last week we received the government database, which includes details of all the people in England who have registered with the government to say that they are vulnerable and need help getting a food shop.

Since then we have been able to match almost 150,000 additional customers against our database. We have already contacted almost 30,000 of those and so we are now contacting almost 120,000 additional customers to offer them a priority delivery slot.

We are waiting for the databases for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will contact vulnerable customers in those areas as soon as we are able.

We know many elderly and vulnerable people who need to self-isolate are relying on the kindness of family, friends and local communities to shop on their behalf and we encourage this.

You wrote to tell me that product limits were a barrier to being able to shop for other people. We understand that it can be difficult to buy what you need and shop for someone else with the 3 item product limit.

We have now lifted buying restrictions on thousands of products and hope that this will help more of you to shop for others. I also want to reassure you that stock levels are now much better right across the store.

We are keeping limits on the most popular items for now, including pasta, UHT milk, antibacterial products and some tinned and frozen foods. But you can now feel confident in shopping in our stores at any time of day and being able to find most of what you need.

To help people shop for others easily, we will be introducing a new volunteer gift card and online voucher in the next week or two. I will share more information on this soon.

Many of you have also written to me to tell me about food banks and community groups near you that are struggling in this crisis. We know from our ongoing support of food banks that this is a particularly tough time for them right across the country.

To help with this, we have donated £3 million to Fareshare, who will use that money to distribute donated food to the people who need it the most.

We are also partnering with Comic Relief and the BBC on The Big Night In which aims to raise money for people impacted by COVID 19. We’ll be sharing more information on this in stores and online.

Best wishes

Mike

Vulnerable people struggle to get essentials

Three-quarters of the population have experienced shortages of products when shopping in recent weeks, with vulnerable consumers among those struggling to get hold of essentials, new research from Which? has found.

In a survey of more than 2,000 members of the public on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak carried out between 20th-24th March, three-quarters (76%) reported experiencing shortages of products in supermarkets, shops or online.

A third (34%) said they could not find hand sanitisers while around a quarter could not find toilet rolls (27%) and rice and pasta (25%).

The coronavirus outbreak has also impacted shopping habits, with around a third (32%) saying they have shopped at independent and convenience stores more than usual.

While supermarkets have maintained there is plenty of food available to feed the nation, many stores have struggled to keep their shelves stocked around the clock to meet the sudden increase in demand, while online shopping delivery slots are booked up weeks in advance.

Major retailers have been seeking to address these issues by hiring thousands of extra staff, limiting purchases of some items and prioritising NHS workers and vulnerable customers at certain times, while the government has relaxed competition laws to allow supermarkets to work together on maintaining supplies of essential goods.

The government has also made plans to deliver weekly food parcels to more than a million people who have been identified as medically vulnerable.

Worryingly, in another survey of Which? members carried out in the same time period, thousands said they had experienced food shortages, including reports from some vulnerable customers who said they had struggled to get the products they needed.

One Which? member said they were struggling to get fresh food such as bread, vegetables and milk, particularly as they had been advised to stay indoors due to their age and had been unable to secure an online delivery slot.

Another member from rural Scotland said their local supermarkets, which are nine miles away, were filled with empty shelves. As these stores were relatively small, they had not yet introduced special opening times for older or vulnerable customers but were closing earlier.

Which? found that product shortages were experienced relatively evenly across all regions of the country, suggesting the issue was widespread.

The measures introduced by the supermarkets and the government appear to be having some impact and a number of supermarkets have recently been able to relax some of the restrictions that they put in place. The situation around the country continues to change regularly.

However, more must still be done to ensure effective coordination and clear communication across the country so that people are clear on the best way to access the food they need. This includes people the government has identified as vulnerable as part of its coronavirus guidance, as well as those who may be vulnerable because of their wider circumstances.

The government must also work with the food industry to develop an effective contingency plan to avoid any future disruption to supply chains, as well as addressing these issues of availability and distribution.

Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Protection and Food Policy at Which?, said: “Millions of people have been experiencing product shortages in supermarkets, with all parts of the country affected. While many can adapt their shopping habits, it is particularly concerning that we are hearing from vulnerable consumers who are struggling to get hold of essentials.

“Supermarkets must continue to work with the government to explore innovative solutions that ensure people have access to essential food supplies in the challenging weeks and months ahead.

“With coronavirus restrictions expected to last months, the government must ensure that there is more effective coordination of food supplies and clearer communication. All consumers, but particularly people who are vulnerable, need to have a much clearer route to access the right help and food supplies for their needs.”

Update from Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe

I wanted to write to you again to update you on the steps we are taking to make sure everyone has access to food and essential items. I’m also sharing more information about how we are supporting our colleagues in these challenging times and how you can help.

An increasing number of you have told me that you’re not always able to get the items that you need when you need them. We are working with our suppliers to get even more stock of essential items and we are adding warehouse capacity on a daily basis.

You will have seen that we put restrictions in place this week to ensure that more products are on shelf for longer.

From Monday 23rd March, we are consolidating our opening hours and all our supermarkets will be open from 8am to 8pm, Monday-Saturday, including those with an Argos store. Sunday opening, Sainsbury’s Local and petrol station opening times will stay the same.

This means we can focus our store colleagues’ time on keeping shelves stocked and serving our customers well during the times that most of you are already shopping.

Last Thursday, we set aside an hour for elderly and vulnerable shoppers in our supermarkets. Many of you have told me how much you appreciated this and that you would like this to become a regular event. Some of you also said we should extend this to members of our hardworking NHS and Social Care workers. And we will be doing just that.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all our supermarkets will dedicate 8am – 9am to serving elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers, as well as NHS and Social Care workers.

They will just need to show us their pass or ID when they visit. Some of you fed back that you couldn’t find what you wanted during that hour, so we will try our best to have essential items on shelf for these customers.

We will be working to keep our shelves well stocked and would encourage customers to arrive throughout the hour to prevent queues forming and to help everyone keep a safe distance.

Hundreds of you have written to me to thank our amazing colleagues who are working around the clock to serve our customers. A number of you have also shared your concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues.

I want you to know that we are doing all we can to support everyone who works in our business.

We have committed to paying all colleagues who are unwell or need to self-isolate for the full period of fourteen days. We have also committed to paying vulnerable and elderly colleagues in full if the government decides they should isolate for 12 weeks.

We hope this will go some way to helping our teams through this uncertain time and we are looking at other ways to thank our colleagues for their extraordinary efforts.

To keep our colleagues safe, I need to ask again for your help. Please do your best to stand one metre away from colleagues in our stores where you can. And we would prefer you to pay with card rather than cash at our tills.

Please also treat our colleagues and other customers with kindness and respect. These are unprecedented circumstances and our colleagues are being asked to come to work every day while so many others are being asked to stay at home.

We all need them to keep coming to work to feed the nation – a small thank you goes a really long way.

I hope you will join us in looking out for each other and the communities that we serve.

Best wishes

Mike

Consumers asked to shop considerately

As increasing numbers of supermarkets and shops try to deal with the challenge of replenishing shelves in time to meet demand, the Scottish Government has asked consumers to shop considerately – in particular to ensure those in the frontline of dealing with COVID-19 are able to get the supplies they need.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “Ensuring that we all have access to food and other essentials is key to our safety and wellbeing in these unprecedented times.

“I want to thank everyone working to produce food, distribute it and sell it in shops and supermarkets for all their efforts to keep products on the shelves.

“For the past week I have been in close contact with Scotland’s national retailers, who confirmed that they have sufficient stocks to provide enough food and other essentials for everyone.

“The issue is that, currently, demand is so high that products cannot be replenished on shelves in time, which is creating a perception of food shortages. This is a false picture though, and pressure on the supply could be greatly eased if shoppers buy just what they need rather than stockpiling. So I am calling on consumers to please shop considerately.

“In particular I would ask people to think about the needs and interests of our frontline and key workers who cannot get to the shops as often as the rest of us and who are shopping at unsocial hours.

“Please also consider helping those who can’t get to the shops themselves, especially elderly and vulnerable neighbours, family and friends who are being asked to restrict their social contact. And consider supporting local businesses and smaller retailers in the community by giving them your custom as well.

“I also want to assure consumers that the Scottish Government is continually working with the food and drink industry and liaising closely with local government and other governments across the UK to ensure that fresh food and supplies remain available across all of Scotland.

We have already acted to enable local authorities to relax restrictions on delivery hours, delivery driver work patterns, and shop opening times to help supermarkets and shops remain stocked and allow shoppers more opportunity to access supplies out of normal business hours. We remain committed to doing all we can to keep the shelves stocked – the public has a pivotal role to play in helping us do that.”

Supermarkets pledge to work together to feed the country

The UK government is temporarily relaxing elements of competition law as part of a package of measures to allow supermarkets to work together to feed the nation.

The move allows retailers to share data with each other on stock levels, cooperate to keep shops open, or share distribution depots and delivery vans. It would also allow retailers to pool staff with one another to help meet demand.

The Environment Secretary George Eustice confirmed elements of the law would be temporarily waived in a meeting this afternoon with chief executives from the UK’s leading supermarkets and food industry representatives.

The government has also temporarily relaxed rules around drivers’ hours, so retailers can deliver more food to stores, and is waiving the 5p plastic bag charge for online purchases to speed up deliveries.

The support for supermarkets comes as the government and retailers continue to urge people to shop considerately and look out for their friends, family and neighbours.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We’ve listened to the powerful arguments of our leading supermarkets and will do whatever it takes to help them feed the nation.

“By relaxing elements of competition laws temporarily, our retailers can work together on their contingency plans and share the resources they need with each other during these unprecedented circumstances.

“We welcome the measures supermarkets are already taking to keep shelves stocked and supply chains resilient, and will continue to support them with their response to coronavirus.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “In these extraordinary and challenging times it is important that we remove barriers to our supermarkets working together to serve customers, particularly those who are elderly, ill or vulnerable in all parts of the UK.

“The temporary relaxation of competition law for the food sector will allow supermarkets to cooperate with each other to keep their shops staffed, their shelves stocked, and the nation fed.

“I am clear that we will continue to do whatever it takes to support business through this extremely difficult period.”

Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “We welcome this important decision by the government to give retailers greater flexibility to work together to tackle the challenges posed by coronavirus.

“Retailers have been working hard to ensure shelves are stocked and this is an exceptional step taken by government to help retailers and their suppliers cope with problems that might be caused by widescale absences across the supply chain.

“This is a short term measure, in the spirit of working together, and will allow retailers to agree common specifications for products to bolster food production, and co-ordinate certain operations to ensure customers anywhere in the UK have access to the essential items they need.”

Legislation will be laid shortly to amend elements of the Competition Act 1998, which prevents certain types of anti-competitive behaviour. It can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances.

This will be a specific, temporary relaxation to enable retailers to work together for the sole purpose of feeding the nation during these unprecedented circumstances. It will not allow any activity that does not meet this requirement.

The announcement comes as the government confirmed yesterday it would temporarily relax drivers’ hours rules to allow supermarket delivery drivers to meet the increased demand for home deliveries.

The change to GB drivers’ hours rules, which will come into effect today (Friday 20 March), will mean delivery drivers are able to work slightly longer hours – helping supermarkets offer additional delivery slots, which is particularly important for vulnerable people and those staying at home during the COVID-19 outbreak. It will also provide extra capacity if drivers are unwell.

The move comes after the Government temporarily relaxed the EU drivers’ hours rules for store deliveries, helping move food and other essentials more quickly so that shelves can be stocked-up.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said: “We know supermarkets have seen unprecedented demand in light of COVID-19. We’re relaxing the GB drivers’ hours rules so that supermarkets can complete more home deliveries – which is especially important for vulnerable people at this time.

“But driver welfare is of course key and we will be working closely with employers to make sure the safety of their drivers and other people on the road is protected.”

On his call with retailers today, the Environment Secretary also confirmed the government will temporarily relax the single-use carrier bag charge for online deliveries in England, to speed up deliveries and minimise any cross-contamination from reusing crates. This will come into force on Saturday 21 March. The charge remains in-place for in-store purchases.

This follows a series of measures the government has introduced to support the food industry’s response to coronavirus, including working with local authorities to extend the hours that deliveries can be made to supermarkets to ensure stores are replenished quickly and extending drivers’ hours to speed up deliveries.

The UK’s food supply chain remains resilient and the Environment Secretary continues to meet regularly with representatives of the food industry to ensure people can get the food and groceries they need.

A Message from Morrisons

This is a message of thanks to our customers for their patience and support and to our colleagues and suppliers for their hard work in dealing with the uncharted challenges and uncertainty presented by the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Whilst customers are stocking up, our colleagues are working around the clock to fill our stores with what you need, to serve our customers and communities and take care of one another when we need each other most.

We want to let you know that looking after our customers and colleagues is our priority at Morrisons, ensuring we all have a clean, safe place to shop and work.

We are working hard to fill our shops and online stores:

• We are a Foodmaker and Shopkeeper and we’re increasing the amount of food we make in our British manufacturing sites to meet customers’ needs
• We’ve increased the amount of stock being sent to stores from our warehouses, with colleagues working incredibly hard
• We’re extending our home delivery service so we can deliver to more customers on their doorstep at the times they need us
• We’re introducing temporary purchase limits on products where there is high demand, so they remain available for longer for more customers to buy
• Cleaning in our stores is being increased throughout the day to ensure high standards of food safety and store cleanliness are maintained

We are following guidance provided by the Government, working closely with our suppliers and ensuring we collectively do everything possible to help the country in these challenging times.

I want to personally thank all our dedicated colleagues who are working very hard in very challenging circumstances, to serve our customers, support our communities and take care of one another.

We expect the days, weeks and months ahead to be testing. I know that working together to support each other we will meet the many challenges we will face.

We have plans in place to respond as the situation develops and we are working every day to meet the changing nature of the impact of this pandemic.

I would like to ask all our customers, when shopping with us, to please consider others even more so everyone can buy what they need, especially those who are most vulnerable in our society. Please continue to treat our colleagues on the front line with the greatest respect.

Thank you for shopping with Morrisons. We promise to do our very best to work together, to support our customers and each other as we face into this challenge.

Sincerely

David

Chief Executive

Panic buying could force Food Bank closures

‘THERE IS ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER’

Food banks are facing huge challenges due to panic buying caused by public fears over the coronavirus.

Over the last week there have been growing shortages on supermarket shelves as worried shoppers stockpile tinned goods, pasta, toilet rolls and other essential goods – despite an appeal for common sense.

Major supermarkets responded to what is bordering on mass hysteria by issuing a joint letter yesterday:

Panic buying is having a serious effect on food bank stocks and there are fears that some may have to close unless some sanity is restored.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust said last week: “Time and again over the past decade, food banks across the UK – aided by a generous public who have donated time, food and money – have stepped up to protect people on the lowest incomes in our communities. But with the spread of coronavirus we all now face an unprecedented challenge and uncertain future.

It is possible that food banks will face increased demand as people lose income, at the same time as food donations drop or staff and volunteers are unavailable, due to measures rightly put in place to slow the spread of infection. All of this comes when food banks are already dealing with a record level of need for emergency food.

“We’re working with our network on how best to support people as the situation unfolds. Wherever possible, food banks will continue to provide the lifeline of emergency food to people unable to afford the essentials and we encourage the public to continue donating after checking with their local food bank what items are most needed.

“We welcome the Department for Work and Pensions’ measures that will not penalise or sanction people for self-isolating, but we ask our government to go further and consider additional measures they could take to ensure everyone has enough money for essentials at this challenging time. Ending the five week wait for a first Universal Credit payment would be one such measure that could help significantly.”

Waitrose is top of Which? supermarket rankings

Waitrose has been rated the best UK in-store supermarket again in Which?’s annual supermarket satisfaction survey.

Waitrose scored a maximum five stars in almost every category – from ease of finding products and fast-moving queues, to friendly staff and the appearance of its shops – and was only let down by a two-star score for value.

Waitrose has now secured the top position in the Which? rankings two years in a row – holding onto the crown despite the increasing popularity of the likes of Aldi and Lidl.

In the Which? survey of more than 14,000 of its members, Asda was rated the worst, finishing at the bottom of the consumer champion’s rankings for in-store grocery shopping.

The consumer group found that shoppers like Asda’s range of goods in store, but clearly want more recyclable packaging and products without packaging, as the store received only one star for this aspect.

The survey revealed that Asda provides neither the noteworthy store experience of Waitrose or Marks & Spencer nor the value of Aldi or Lidl. Asda scored just two stars for the quality of its own-label products.

Marks & Spencer lived up to its reputation for quality when it comes to food and drink, scoring five stars for both its own-brand and fresh produce. Its overall customer score of 73 per cent places it just below Waitrose, not managing to quite match its rival’s superb in-store experience or product range. Marks & Spencer wasn’t able to match Waitrose for ease of finding products, queues or staff availability.

Aldi and Lidl were rated best for value, both receiving five stars. The two supermarkets are seen as the best for those wanting more for their money, with rock-bottom prices making customers much more forgiving of their less-impressive traits, such as long queues, or unhelpful or hard-to-find staff.

One Aldi customer said: “It’s not a pleasant place to shop, but value for money is exceptional.”

Morrisons and Sainsbury’s came mid-table, with Tesco sliding in just below and Iceland coming in second-to-bottom. Shoppers told Which? that they like Iceland’s value for money, but this was not enough to boost its score overall. The supermarket failed to impress with its fresh produce or product range, and got just one star for availability of recyclable packaging.

The Which? study also found that when shopping in store, people were most frustrated by waiting for help at self-service checkouts (26%) and by a lack of staffed checkouts (25%).

Ocado, the UK’s only purely online supermarket, scored highly in the Which? analysis of online supermarkets and was the only supermarket endorsed as a Which? Recommended Provider, but was not included in this analysis.

Harry Rose, Editor of Which? Magazine, said: “The quality of fresh products is the single most important factor for our members when choosing where to shop in store, and this is just one of the areas where shoppers have told us that Waitrose excels.

“There’s clear room for improvement for the ‘big four’ – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda – as they continue to trail behind Waitrose and M&S for experience, and behind Aldi and Lidl on value.”

Fuel prices rise in January – despite big fall in wholesale costs

Supermarkets raise fuel prices every day until an overdue 11^th-hour cut
January fuel price rise is the second consecutive monthly hike

Despite the wholesale cost of petrol and diesel falling in January, the average prices charged at the pumps of the UK’s four biggest supermarkets actually INCREASED every day until a cut was finally announced at the end of the month, according to data from RAC Fuel Watch*.

The wholesale price of unleaded fell by over 4p (4.23p), and diesel by a whopping 7.5p, across the month, dropping from 97.22p – before delivery, retailer margin and VAT – at the start of January to 92.98p at the end. Diesel went from 102.26p to 94.74p.

This should have led to a price reduction at the pumps during January, but instead retailers put their prices up leading to the second consecutive monthly rise of both fuels. The average UK price of petrol now stands at 127.60p – up a penny (0.92p) from the beginning of January (126.68p).

Diesel also increased by a penny (0.96p) to 132.04p from 131.08p. At the supermarkets, however, unleaded averages 123.69p (up 1.51p) and diesel 128.14p (up 1.30p).

Wholesale petrol averaged 96.57p a litre over the month, and diesel 100.19p, with both dropping sharply towards the end of January as a result of oil going below $60 a barrel for the first time since the end of October. A barrel of crude closed out the month at $56.59 – the lowest price since 8 August 2019 – due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global demand for oil.

Comparing the average wholesale price of petrol to the average pump price throughout January (127.82p) means delivery, retailer margin and VAT accounts for 31.82p. Of this, VAT equates to around 21p, delivery at 2p a litre, which means retailer margin is around 9p a litre – 4p more than it has averaged since 2013.

The cost of filling up a 55-litre family car with either fuel is now 50p a tank more expensive than December: petrol is now £70.18 – and £72.62 for diesel.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Based on steadily falling wholesale prices January should have been a good month for drivers at the pumps, but instead they ended up being paying well over the odds at the pumps. In fact, January was a perfect example of ‘rocket and feather’ pricing where prices go up far faster than they come down.

“Retailers were very quick to protect themselves from a slight jump in the price of oil caused by the tensions between Iran and the US at the start of January by putting up forecourt prices, but when the cost of a barrel dropped back, for some reason, retail prices carried on going up.

“Our biggest retailers – the supermarkets – blatantly resisted passing on the savings they were making to drivers until the RAC publicly called on them to do so on 27 January when RAC Fuel Watch data showed there was scope for a large cut. Two days later a headline-grabbing 3p a litre cut was announced.

“This was clearly good news, but it’s hard to congratulate retailers on doing something they should have done at least a week before. Even since the cut pump prices are still out of kilter with what’s been happening on the wholesale market. As things stand now – despite the cuts – petrol is still 5p too expensive and diesel over 7p too dear.

“We strongly urge retailers of all sizes to play fair with drivers and cut their forecourt prices. Going forwards we call on them to charge prices that more closely mirror drops in the cost they buy fuel in at in the same way they do when prices go up.

“Sadly however, drivers are at the mercy of fuel retailers and this generally means they lose out on getting a fair deal.”