Morrisons Apologizes for Tech Glitches Affecting Discounts and Online Orders

Morrisons has issued an apology following technological difficulties that impacted customer discounts and online delivery services throughout the UK. On Monday morning, shoppers encountered issues redeeming loyalty card discounts, and some Christmas deliveries were unexpectedly delayed. The supermarket chain stated it was investigating the problems both in its physical stores and online, though it did not disclose any details regarding the root causes of the service disruption. By Monday evening, all store operations had reportedly returned to normal, according to information obtained by the BBC. To address the checkout difficulties, the supermarket group has extended certain loyalty discounts to all patrons. The top 100 More Card prices are now being offered as standard prices for all shoppers, irrespective of their membership status in the loyalty program. Additionally, More Card holders will receive an extra 10% reduction on their total purchase “as an apology”. Morrisons confirmed that both these initiatives would remain active until the close of Tuesday. The company also advised that customers who made purchases on Monday prior to the implementation of the 10% discount are eligible to return to stores to claim this reduction. The company indicated that some home deliveries might experience delays, and advised click and collect customers to await an email notification before proceeding to stores. However, several customers informed the BBC that their online orders, which included food items for Christmas Day, had been entirely cancelled. Furthermore, other individuals reported to the BBC that they had encountered comparable problems prior to today, including during the weekend and “in the last couple of months.” One shopper mentioned losing approximately £20 in discounts. “I added everything up as I went around the shop and it came to £70, which with all my card discounts and vouchers should have cost me nothing at the checkout,” Steve Weatherby, from Huddersfield, told BBC News.”But it came up as £90. None of the discounts and offers around the store, like 50p off, had been applied.”So I had to pay it as I was shopping for Christmas lunch and things we needed.” He added: “The staff were getting upset as they weren’t aware of what was happening, and it’s not their fault.” Another customer, Moira Gray from Northumberland, informed the BBC that her online order was cancelled on Monday morning. “I booked it ages ago, when the delivery slots first came out for Christmas,” she stated. Due to an inability to leave her residence because of illness, she expressed being “really stressed,” particularly as her order contained turkey and trifle intended for Christmas Day. “[Morrisons] said they couldn’t do anything… they also said their systems were down,” she added, noting that Morrisons provided a £10 goodwill voucher. Lorraine Calvo, also from Northumberland, experienced a delivery cancellation in the morning and reported that Morrisons attributed this to an issue with its IT system. “I saw the email at 8.30am and was a bit shocked because they texted me last night confirming the delivery,” she recounted to the BBC. “It was all my weekly shop to get me through Christmas, and cat food and everything.” Subsequent to the online publication of this report, Morrisons contacted Ms Gray and Ms Calvo, committing to deliver their orders on Monday without charge. The company also contested assertions that these specific cancellations stemmed from the primary systems issue, informing the BBC that they constituted distinct problems handled by customer services. However, Morrisons did state in an official announcement: “If for any reason there are isolated cancellations, our team will be in touch directly to resolve them.” Prior to Christmas, Morrisons had been promoting substantial discounts, such as certain vegetables priced at 10p. “There’s never a good time for a tech glitch, but for it to happen on what is expected to be the busiest day of the year is the stuff of nightmares,” states retail analyst Natalie Berg. “This will further erode shopper trust and impact profitability.” According to retail analysts Kantar, Monday was projected to be the busiest shopping day for supermarkets throughout the current year. Supermarket sales are anticipated to surpass £13bn for the first time ever in December. Kantar reports that Morrisons holds the position of the fifth-largest supermarket in the UK market, commanding an 8.6% share of the grocery market during the 12-week period concluding on 1 December 2024. “Retailers are putting more and more deals through their loyalty cards and if shoppers can’t access them, they will feel cheated,” commented Ronan Hegarty, news editor of the trade publication The Grocer. Additionally, the Morrisons website experienced downtime for a duration during the morning, displaying error messages on certain pages that indicated invalid or delayed server responses. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the material found on external websites. Further information on our external linking policy is available.