Morrisons is relaunching its popular food counters in phases after receiving “widespread backlash”. The major retailer scrapped its 35 meat and 35 fish bars, impacting 70 UK stores in a bid to cut costs last year.

It also closed all 18 of its Market Kitchen sites, 52 cafes, 13 florists and four pharmacies. The removal of these counters was felt by many Morrisons customers as a loss of personal interaction. Now, Morrisons is set to reopen several Market Street locations in the coming months. Signs have also appeared in stores reading “fresh cuts are back on the block” with “skilled butchers” returning.

According to The Grocer, senior bosses acknowledge that the cost-cutting might have been exaggerated at the time. The reopening proposals are part of Morrisons’ relaunch of its Magic strategy, which it outlined at its annual IGD conference in June. The counters will still feature the “traditional” manned service; however, they will also include flatbeds and more grab-and-go options as part of the upgrade.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: “Our Market Street counters are part of our DNA. They are at the heart of our offer and a real differentiator for Morrisons.”

The retailer also noted that the time since the closures was used to enhance counter-operation efficiency, specifically by improving waste yield. As part of the Market Street revival, a digital modernisation will be introduced, including the installation of electronic ordering screens at pizza counters.

While further rollouts are expected over the coming months, the relaunch has already taken place at several locations, including Thornbury, Herne Bay, Newcastle’s Great Park, and Yeadon in Leeds.

Speaking on the return of the counters, one person took to Facebook and wrote: “They add to the customer’s experience, choice and interaction.”

Customers slammed the closures last year. One person wrote on Reddit: “‘It is a shame as it does take the human element out of serving, which a lot of customers love.’

Another added: “The one thing Morrisons had going for itself was its pizza/dessert/deli counters.”

Morrisons will be upping hourly pay at its UK stores later this month for the second time in 2026. In May, the grocery giant announced that a proposed pay deal for store and manufacturing workers been given the greenlight by USDAW union, which negotiates pay for large sections of Morrisons’ workforce.

It paved the way for implementing pay rises for all eligible hourly-paid staff across three phases. It began with hourly rates for all Customer Assistants increasing to £12.81 (backdated to March 30), with all other established hourly rates for eligible roles seeing a 10p uplift. From Monday, July 20, 2026, customer assistants at Morrisons stores will see their pay going up from £12.81 to £13.00, while all other established hourly rates for the other roles will rise by 19p.

The final increase will come into effect from Monday, October 26, 2026, when the hourly rate will go from £13.00 to £13.11, with pay for the other roles seeing an 11p increase.

In the May announcement, Morrisons said in addition to the pay rises, all eligible hourly paid colleagues would get a one-off fixed payment of between £25 and £175 based on their contractual hours.

Jodie Keating, group people director of Morrisons, said at the time: “We’re pleased that we can now implement the pay proposal and increase pay for our colleagues to reward them for the contribution they make to our business.

“I would like to thank all our colleagues for everything they continue to do for Morrisons.” It came as rival supermarket chains also upped workers’ pay this year to retain and attract staff, as cost-of-living pressures continue to hit British households.

Morrisons is just one of several retailers who introduced pay increases this year, as retailers compete to attract and retain staff.

For example, Sainsbury’s previously introduced in an above-inflation pay increase of 5% for hourly paid workers in March, with hourly pay boosted to £13.23 per hour nationally, whilst in London it rose to £14.54 per hour.

From March 1, Lidl increased hourly pay for store assistants outside London to £13.45, a rate that increases to £14.00 depending on length of service.

In London, entry-level store workers had their pay upped to £14.80 per hour, while the hourly rate for experienced staff can rise up to £15.35.

The following month, Store Assistants working at Aldi’s UK branches also saw their pay increase (to £13.50 per hour nationally, with those working inside in the M25 getting £14.88).

These pay rates rise to £14.47 and £15.20 respectively based on length of service.

Morrisons will be increasing hourly pay at its UK stores from late October as part of a three-stage uplift. In May, the supermarket chain announced that a proposed pay deal for store and manufacturing workers had been resoundingly approved by the USDAW union, which negotiates pay for large parts of the workforce.

It opened the door for implementing pay increases for all eligible hourly-paid staff in three phases. The pay boost began with hourly rates for all Customer Assistants rising to £12.81 (backdated to March 30), with all other established hourly rates for eligible roles increasing by 10p. From Monday, July 20, 2026, customer assistants at Morrisons stores will see pay increase from £12.81 to £13.00, with all other established hourly rates for the other roles rising by 19p.

Then, from Monday, October 26, 2026, the hourly rate will climb further, from £13.00 to £13.11, with pay for the other roles upped by 11p.

In the May announcement, Morrisons said that, in addition, all eligible hourly-paid colleagues would receive a one-off fixed payment of between £25 and £175 based on their contractual hours.

Morrisons’ Group People Director, Jodie Keating, said at the time: “We’re pleased that we can now implement the pay proposal and increase pay for our colleagues to reward them for the contribution they make to our business.

“I would like to thank all our colleagues for everything they continue to do for Morrisons.”

It comes as Morrisons’ supermarket rivals also upped workers’ pay this year in a bid to retain and attract staff, as UK households continue to wrestle with cost-of-living pressures.

From March 1, Lidl increased hourly pay for store assistants outside London to £13.45, a rate that rises to £14.00 depending on length of service.

In London, entry-level store workers had their pay upped to £14.80 per hour, while the hourly rate for experienced staff can rise up to £15.35.

The following month, Store Assistants working at Aldi’s UK branches also saw their pay increase (to £13.50 per hour nationally, with those working inside in the M25 getting £14.88).

These pay rates rise to £14.47 and £15.20 respectively based on length of service. Aldi said at the time that the change would benefit 28,000 hourly-paid store workers.

Other major retailers that increased hourly pay in 2026 include Sainsbury’s, Primark, and John Lewis.

Morrisons, the supermarket giant with 497 stores nationwide, has announced a significant change for UK shoppers: the phasing out of printed shelf labels. The retailer plans to replace these with electronic shelf labels (ESLs), marking an end to an era.

The move, set to begin in early 2026, will make Morrisons the first major UK supermarket chain to implement this technology across all its stores.

This cutting-edge technology allows staff to update product prices remotely via a computer, doing away with the need for traditional paper price tags and their constant replacement due to price changes.

VusionGroup is tasked with installing 10.8 million smart ESLs in Morrisons supermarkets. These digital labels will replace the old paper ones throughout the store, providing accurate, real-time price and product information.

This automation of a previously manual task will free up staff to concentrate more on customer service, according to the retailer.

Morrisons has stated that the ESLs will ensure instant communication of savings and offers from the Morrisons More Card to customers at the shelf edge. The new system will also work in tandem with the supermarket’s digital shelf-edge cameras, helping staff identify gaps in product placement.

Gordon Macpherson, Morrisons’ group productivity director, revealed: “We’re excited to be the first large supermarket group in the UK to introduce digital shelf edge labelling across our entire supermarket estate and look forward to rolling out the technology in 2026. This latest investment further underlines our commitment to modernising and digitising our business to deliver an enhanced shopping experience for Morrisons customers.”

The supermarket is also upgrading its in-store wi-fi infrastructure as part of the scheme. Roy Horgan, VusionGroup CEO for UK and Ireland, commented: “This agreement with Morrisons is a powerful example of how VusionGroup is executing on its 2027 strategic plan.”

He added: “We are building a platform for transformation, one that not only delivers immediate value but also evolves with our clients’ needs. Morrisons is a trusted and innovative retailer, and we are proud to support their transformation journey.”

Last year, Asda rolled out ESLs to its largest and busiest Express outlets, with 250 branches now featuring the new technology. Meanwhile, Co-op upgraded its ESLs in August to enable customers to “tap to join” its membership programme.

Christmas is soon approaching, and with it comes the opportunity to indulge in festive food — a British favourite being the mince pie.  This Winter, Supermarket store Morrisons is set to launch its new tradition: National Mince Pie Day to welcome in the family period. Encouraging its customers to join in on the celebrations, Morrisons has declared November 22 to be its annual day for its Rich & Fruity treats.

The chain groccery store has declared to hand out a huge 50,000 pies to customers across the country to lucky customers this Saturday, selected stores will mark the day with gluten-free pies on hand too. Visitors just need to swing by their local need  shop to get their hands on a mince pie.

Morrisons bakers have shared that they prepare a monumental 20 million freshly baked pies per year, working hard to maintain pie levels for all during the cold season. Unsurprisingly, the sweet treat is a sure hit with Brits, with nearly 10 million sold in December alone — that’s more than 12,000 pies bought per hour.

The build up to the new national day has led to recent research which states the mince pie to be the second most “official taste of Christmas”, just after the iconic roast turkey. With an average of six pies per citezen in December, it is no surprise that the pie is a universally celebrated favourite; Manchester scoring highest as the city where pies are eaten the most during Christmas, compared to everywhere else in the country.

The tradition, which saw minced meat in the Middle Ages to monstrous portions during Victorian period, is a constant and defiant part of history, also due to Oliver Cromwell having banned the product due to believing them to be a lavish and indulgent Christmas habit.

A British Food Historian, Neil Buttery, British Food Historian, commented: “The humble mince pie has been part of Britain’s Christmas foodie festivities since medieval times, so Christmas without them is simply unimaginable. As a food historian and chef who has baked many different types of mince pies from across the centuries, and loved them all, I’m so pleased that Morrisons is finally giving the festive treats the recognition they deserve with their own day”.

Mark Richmond, Head Chef at Morrisons, shared: “We wanted to give the nation a reason to smile and celebrate one of our most-loved festive bakes and we’ve done just that by launching National Mince Pie Day and giving away 50,000 pies. Having hundreds of expert bakers working hard all-year round to prepare millions of pies across the UK and a variety available for all tastebuds, makes us best placed to celebrate the mince pie! National Mince Pie Day will help spread a little early Christmas cheer and make sure everyone can enjoy a taste of the season, on us!”.

With 10 varieties on offer this year, Morrisons is adamant there is a perfect pie for everyone. Flavours include: The Best Signature Collection; The Best Caramel Apple Crumble; The Best Cherry Bakewell; and even the Shortcrust (now reduced to £1.50 in the build-up to Christmas).

Note that More Card members who shop in-store on National Mince Pie Day (Saturday 22nd November) will be gifted an additional coupon at the till holding 500 More Points when they buy any Mince Pie in store. This has only one week to redeem. Visit thw Morrisons blog to find out which store is celebrating near you.

Morrisons is all set to introduce a major change to all of its stores in a bid to ensure the shelves are stocked as quickly as possible. The popular UK supermarket chain is rolling out a new tracking app across its stores to help speed up shelf stocking by floor staff. 

The system will help the managers to monitor how quickly employees are unloading and placing products on shelves, making it easier to identify delays and improve efficiency. The goal is to ensure shelves are replenished more quickly, enhancing the shopping experience for customers. The new system, which was first reported by The Telegraph, will also let the managers identify when employees may need additional training.

The new app will “help teams understand their own performance” and allow employees’ work to be monitored by store managers, rather than the company’s head office.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: “Along with a lot of our sector, we have used ‘time and motion’ data for some time now to help us allocate hours to a store and ensure we have fair, consistent and standardised ways of working.

“To support this, we have created an app to help teams understand their own performance.

“This will allow us to be fair and consistent in recognising colleagues, whilst also identifying opportunities to coach our colleagues and understand where additional support and training may be required.”

Earlier this year, Morrisons updated its staff policies to boost customer service by restricting stockroom access to specific employees.

The aim was to ensure that team members were positioned where they could be most effective, helping customers directly on the shop floor rather than being occupied in back areas.

The company explained that this change was about having “the right colleagues in the right place” to consistently deliver excellent service.

Morrisons has introduced at new ‘£10 rule’ in 405 of its stores – and it’s good news for customers. The supermarket giant confirmed that More Card holders can pick up a free refillable hot drink at selected Morrisons Cafés when they spend £10 or more in a single transaction in store.

Under the scheme people can swipe their More Card to earn a voucher for a free hot drink after spending £10 in store.

The offer is available from Monday 1st September until Sunday 28th Septembers. A spokesperson said: “Morrisons is treating More Card holders to a free refillable hot drink of choice in its cafés, to brighten up customers’ weekly shops.

“Available in selected Morrisons Cafés, the offer can be redeemed from Monday 1st September until Sunday 28th September, when customers spend £10 or more* in a single transaction in store and swipe their More Card*.

“The deal can be used across a selection of refillable hot drinks, from lattes and cappuccinos for coffee lovers needing an extra boost, to calming chamomile and green teas. Customers will earn a voucher when they scan their More Card on a purchase over £10 in store, the voucher will be given to the customer via the App or a physical coupon printed at the till. For app customers, they’ll need to activate the offer in their app before visiting the café.”

To find your local Morrisons Café, visit: https://my.morrisons.com/storefinder/.

The offer excludes takeaway hot drinks and the £10 minimum spend in store is calculated after any discounts have been applied. It excludes online & Morrisons Daily and there is a maximum one hot drink per week and it must be redeemed in 7 days of the in store shop.

The offer is not available in Morrisons Brew bars and Morrisons Daily’s or via Amazon and Deliveroo.

Hot drinks included within the deal:

• Latte
• Coffee
• Cappuccino
• Hot Chocolate
• Milky Coffee
• Flat White
• Mocha
• Decaf Tea
• Chamomile Tea
• Mint Tea
• Lemon & Ginger Tea
• Green Tea
• Pot of tea

Earlier this summer Morrisons said it had “bounced back” from a cyber attack which disrupted its Christmas trading, as it posted stronger sales and profits for the latest quarter. Group sales grew by 4.2% to £3.9 billion for the 13 weeks to April 27, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

Rami Baitieh, chief executive of Morrisons, said he was “pleased to report that Morrisons has bounced back strongly” from disruption linked to a cyber attack on its technology supplier Blue Yonder in November.

The retailer had previously said the incident caused slower sales growth in the quarter to January and highlighted that its recent turnaround progress was “set back” by the issue.

The company was unable to see its product availability and stock levels for four days, leading to reduced availability in stores over the key trading period.

However, Morrisons saw sales growth accelerate from 4.2% in the previous quarter to 4.3%, with a like-for-like growth figure of 3.9%.

Meanwhile, underlying earnings grew by 7.2% to £344 million for the first half of its financial year.

Bosses said the business had seen sales supported by investment into pricing and promotions amid intense competition across the sector and pressure on customer budgets.

Mr Baitieh added: “Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers’ minds.

“Throughout the first half we’ve worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty.”

It comes as the company pushes on with its major turnaround plan, which has seen it overhaul a raft of store operations.

In March, Morrisons announced that 365 staff were at risk of redundancy because of plans to close some of its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters.

As a result, it said it would shut 52 cafes, all 18 market kitchens, 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies.

In its latest update, Morrisons said it has launched new trials including a new-look Market Street section within its stores.

Morrisons added that it made a further £58 million in cost savings over the latest quarter, amid plans to save £1 billion by the end of the 2026 financial year.

Morrisons has introduced at new ‘£10 rule’ in 415 of its stores – and it’s good news for customers. The supermarket giant confirmed that More Card holders can pick up a free refillable hot drink at selected Morrisons Cafés when they spend £10 or more in a single transaction in store.

Under the scheme people can swipe their More Card to earn a voucher for a free hot drink after spending £10 in store.

The offer is available from Monday 1st September until Sunday 28th Septembers. A spokesperson said: “Morrisons is treating More Card holders to a free refillable hot drink of choice in its cafés, to brighten up customers’ weekly shops.

“Available in selected Morrisons Cafés, the offer can be redeemed from Monday 1st September until Sunday 28th September, when customers spend £10 or more* in a single transaction in store and swipe their More Card*.

“The deal can be used across a selection of refillable hot drinks, from lattes and cappuccinos for coffee lovers needing an extra boost, to calming chamomile and green teas. Customers will earn a voucher when they scan their More Card on a purchase over £10 in store, the voucher will be given to the customer via the App or a physical coupon printed at the till. For app customers, they’ll need to activate the offer in their app before visiting the café.”

To find your local Morrisons Café, visit: https://my.morrisons.com/storefinder/.

The offer excludes takeaway hot drinks and the £10 minimum spend in store is calculated after any discounts have been applied. It excludes online & Morrisons Daily and there is a maximum one hot drink per week and it must be redeemed in 7 days of the in store shop.

The offer is not available in Morrisons Brew bars and Morrisons Daily’s or via Amazon and Deliveroo.

Hot drinks included within the deal:

• Latte
• Coffee
• Cappuccino
• Hot Chocolate
• Milky Coffee
• Flat White
• Mocha
• Decaf Tea
• Chamomile Tea
• Mint Tea
• Lemon & Ginger Tea
• Green Tea
• Pot of tea

Earlier this summer Morrisons said it had “bounced back” from a cyber attack which disrupted its Christmas trading, as it posted stronger sales and profits for the latest quarter. Group sales grew by 4.2% to £3.9 billion for the 13 weeks to April 27, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

Rami Baitieh, chief executive of Morrisons, said he was “pleased to report that Morrisons has bounced back strongly” from disruption linked to a cyber attack on its technology supplier Blue Yonder in November.

The retailer had previously said the incident caused slower sales growth in the quarter to January and highlighted that its recent turnaround progress was “set back” by the issue.

The company was unable to see its product availability and stock levels for four days, leading to reduced availability in stores over the key trading period.

However, Morrisons saw sales growth accelerate from 4.2% in the previous quarter to 4.3%, with a like-for-like growth figure of 3.9%.

Meanwhile, underlying earnings grew by 7.2% to £344 million for the first half of its financial year.

Bosses said the business had seen sales supported by investment into pricing and promotions amid intense competition across the sector and pressure on customer budgets.

Mr Baitieh added: “Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers’ minds.

“Throughout the first half we’ve worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty.”

It comes as the company pushes on with its major turnaround plan, which has seen it overhaul a raft of store operations.

In March, Morrisons announced that 365 staff were at risk of redundancy because of plans to close some of its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters.

As a result, it said it would shut 52 cafes, all 18 market kitchens, 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies.

In its latest update, Morrisons said it has launched new trials including a new-look Market Street section within its stores.

Morrisons added that it made a further £58 million in cost savings over the latest quarter, amid plans to save £1 billion by the end of the 2026 financial year.