DIYWEEK.net

The online giant and supermarket chain will roll the ‘Morrisons at Amazon’ store on Prime Now service out to more cities across the UK, including Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth.

The same-day online grocery home delivery service is currently available to Amazon Prime Now customers in just four cities: Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, parts of London and the Home Counties.

The initiative means customers can order a full Morrisons shop online, which is then picked at a local Morrisons store, and delivered by Amazon, with the option for delivery within one hour available.

Morrisons first teamed up with Amazon in 2016, installing the UK's largest collection of Amazon Lockers for parcel pick-up across its store network, before entering into a new supply agreement where its products would be available to Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers. Morrisons also provides a wholesale supply service to Amazon, which will remain in place.

The same-day service will now be available in other cities this year, including Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth and the online retail giant reveals it will be rolled out to further locations “in future years”.  Morrisons’ online ‘grocery’ range online includes a fairly comprehensive home and garden offer, covering categories, such as kitchen, dining, bathroom, soft furnishings, decorative accessories, bar ware, bathroom, outdoor living, garden chemicals and fertilisers, seeds, birdcare DIY and decorating, tools, laundry, storage, and lighting.

It is the latest development from Amazon, as it seeks to expand both its services and physical high street presence. The announcement follows news that Amazon has partnered with home, fashion and garden retailer, Next in a new Counter service that provide a network of staffed pick-up points for Amazon parcels.

Earlier this month Amazon also revealed plans to open 10 pop-up shops in various UK town centre locations in Wales, Scotland, The Midlands, Yorkshire and the South East of England, as part of a year-long pilot.

The new expansion with Morrisons will means the grocer becomes a retailer on Amazon’s Prime Now website and app, through ‘Morrisons at Amazon’, where it can sell directly to customers.

Amazon UK country manager Doug Gurr said: “We have greatly valued our relationship with Morrisons since the launch of the Morrisons store on Prime Now in the UK in 2016 and, expanding this relationship, enables us to offer Morrisons high quality grocery selection to even more Prime members.

“We are committed to growing our grocery business so that we can continue to deliver what we know our customers will always care about – low prices, vast selection, and fast delivery."

David Potts, Morrisons Chief Executive, said:  “Morrisons conveniently-located local supermarkets and Amazon’s very popular website and customer offer are an ideal combination, offering ultra-fast same day grocery home delivery for customers in and around cities across Britain.

“Amazon has been a valued partner of Morrisons for over three years, and we are pleased to be expanding our relationship together. Continuing to partner with the best digital operators such as Amazon is a significant, capital light growth opportunity for Morrisons.”