Morrisons shoppers have faced the biggest price rises compared to any other major UK supermarket last year, causing them to vote with their feet and switch to other retailers.
According to a report by credit agency Moody's, the supermarket giant started raising the cost of products at a "rapid pace" from June onwards and although discounters Aldi and Lidl also increased prices, the rises were not as rapid as Morrisons, the UK's fifth biggest retailer.
Customers at all supermarkets are facing the biggest hikes for 45 years, with food prices up by 16.4 per cent, but Morrisons shoppers suffered worse than others. As a result, sales for Morrisons dropped by 6.4% year on year for the second quarter of 2022 and in September, it was overtaken as the UK’s fourth largest grocer by Aldi as families searched for better value elsewhere.
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Aldi has been named the cheapest supermarket for a basket of 48 groceries in 2022 by consumer champion Which?, which found it the cheapest for seven out of 12 months, closely followed by Lidl, which was cheapest for the remaining five.
However since mid-October, Moody's said Morrisons' pricing began to improve and that its prices are increasing less than the broader market. A Morrisons spokesman said: "We're working really hard to keep prices down for our customers and to provide great value across every category."
Last week, Morrisons joined rival Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda in announcing price cuts, announcing it was slashing prices across 50% of its Savers range.
The cuts, which the supermarket said was to help shoppers save following Christmas expenses and as the cost-of-living crisis continues and will be available in all of Morrisons' 498 supermarkets. The discounts are from around 130 items of the total 263 products in Morrisons' own-brand ranges, including Savers, Wonky and Essentials. The cuts will cost Morrisons £16m.
Morrison was taken over by private equity firm Clayton, Dublier & Rice in 2021, when it held a 10% share of the UK supermarket spend. However due to increasing prices blamed on debt, rising interest and increasing inflation, it now has 9.1% market share.
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