Morrisons hails 'renaissance of the supermarket'

Morrisons says the pandemic has led to a "renaissance of the supermarket" as Brits enjoy cooking at home more.

The UK's fourth-largest supermarket group said sales had increased by 2.7% in the 14 weeks to 9 May.

It added that events such as Mother's Day and Easter were "particularly successful".

As the economy reopens after beginning the year in lockdown, Morrisons said there had been a strong improvement in sales of snack and takeaway food.

"The pandemic is not yet over, but it is in retreat across Britain and there is much to be positive about as something approaching normal life begins to take shape," said Morrisons boss David Potts.

"Our forecourts are getting busier, we are seeing encouraging recent signs of a strong rebound of food-to-go, take-away counters and salad bars, and our popular cafés will soon fully reopen."

Shoppers have also become more familiar with buying more of their groceries online. Morrisons said, with online sales more than doubling compared to the same period last year.

"The growing reach of our online businesses is attracting new customers," Mr Potts said.

Morrisons boss David Potts says there is a sense of optimism in the UK

However, while the pandemic may have sparked a renaissance for supermarkets, it has come at a price.

Morrisons said that in the past three months alone, it has faced a £27m bill for Covid-related costs.

"These costs were mainly incurred due to extra colleague absence and more marshals during the first few weeks of 2021 when the second Covid-19 wave was still prevalent and Britain remained under strict lockdown," the supermarket said.

• People return to supermarkets as online sales slow

But, as the UK emerges from the latest lockdown, Mr Potts said the successful vaccine rollout and an improving economy would encourage Brits to celebrate events this summer, including Euro 2020.

"That sense of optimism is percolating through the country and it will lead to people wanting to celebrate events," Mr Potts said.

"We'll be doing everything we can to be part of that."