Morrisons make huge change to UK stores - and it's good for shoppers

Supermarket giant has revealed a major overhaul affecting each one of its UK stores, which the retailer hopes will improve its offering to customers with a more premium "farm shop" feel.

The 126-year-old chain is making the premium revamp as part of a project to improve customer experiences in its stores, with a shift towards providing more fresh produce aimed at "amateur home cooks."

Shoppers can expect to see similar products to those offered in , with higher quality produce and tantalising pre-packaged products like marinated meats and breaded ready-to-cook fish.

Spearheading this move towards the premium end of the food retail market is the supermarket giant's new trading director Andrew Staniland, who is implementing the company's 'Morrisons Magic' strategy. This will see the retailer move closer to its "Market Street" business, with a tighter focus on its bestselling products.

Andrew Staniland told the : "The crisper, cleaner look is underscoring our value credentials, together with a tighter focus on customer favourites, some great innovations and some wonderful new products."

Alongside a greater focus on high-quality ready-to-cook meals, the supermarket is also introducing a greater buy-in from major brands to draw in shoppers. This will include branded product bays for companies like BrewDog, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Myprotein.

The trade publication understands that Morrisons will roll out these changes in the coming months across each one of its UK stores, though some supermarkets will see the change coming much sooner.

Warrington's Morrisons was among the first to see the change, with workers taking around 2,500 "SKUs" off the shelves and adding 500 new ones, the Grocer reported. An SKU is a unique numerical code assigned to each product line in a shop, meaning that 2,500 products have been removed from the shelves.

This follows a similar move by Asda in March, when the struggling retailer axed 6,000 products from its shelves in a bid to streamline the business and the customer experience.

Moving towards a more farm shop feel is just one of the massive changes Morrisons has revealed this week. Just a few days ago, the retailer told its loyalty customers that they can now earn thousands of points on their More Cards, even when shopping elsewhere.

Loyalty customers will be able to earn points with more than 300 brands, including ASOS, eBay, Just Eat, Very, and Hotels.com. This means shoppers will be able to build points faster and earn money off their weekly food shop, even when buying clothes or booking their next holiday.

To cap off this shift in direction for Morrisons, it emerged on Wednesday that Morrisons had signed an exclusive deal to sponsor the fourth season of Clarkson's Farm - a clear bid to boost its visibility among farm shop fans.

Alex Rogerson, Morrisons' customer & trade planning director, said: "From field to fork, acres to aisles and tractors to trolleys - this sponsorship is a celebration of the quality of great British-farmed food, the journey it takes and the farmers who make it possible.

"Morrisons works directly with British farmers and growers all year round, and we pride ourselves on our great quality, fresh food as a result."