Morrisons announces ‘end of an era’ change for 497 supermarkets

End of an era.

The chain have announced that people buying groceries will now be met with electronic shelf labels instead.

The move, which is set to kick off early next year, will make Morrisons the first major UK supermarket to implement the technology across their entire estate.

The Mirror reports that this will allow staff to update prices remotely from a computer, removing the need for paper price labels to be replaced whenever a price goes up or down.

VusionGroup will be installing 10.8 million smart ESLs in the supermarkets which will replace the paper labels.

Morrisons group productivity director, Gordon Macpherson, said: "We're excited to be the first large supermarket group in the UK to introduce digital shelf edge labelling across our entire supermarket estate and look forward to rolling out the technology in 2026.

"This latest investment further underlines our commitment to modernising and digitising our business to deliver an enhanced shopping experience for Morrisons customers."

Morrisons are also set to close 103 locations across the UK in the latest blow to the nation's high street.

Cafes closing 

• Bradford Thornbury
• Paisley Falside Road
• London Queensbury
• Portsmouth
• Great Park
• Banchory North Deeside Road
• Failsworth Poplar Street
• Blackburn Railway Road
• Leeds Swinnow Road
• London Wood Green
• Kirkham Poulton Street
• Lutterworth Bitteswell Road
• Stirchley
• Leeds Horsforth
• London Erith
• Crowborough
• Bellshill John Street
• Dumbarton Glasgow Road
• East Kilbride Lindsayfield
• East Kilbride Stewartfield
• Glasgow Newlands
• Largs Irvine Road
• Troon Academy Street
• Wishaw Kirk Road
• Newcastle UT Cowgate
• Northampton Kettering Road
• Bromsgrove Buntsford Industrial Park
• Solihull Warwick Road
• Brecon Free Street
• Caernarfon North Road
• Hadleigh
• London Harrow Hatch End
• High Wycombe Temple End
• Leighton Buzzard Lake Street
• London Stratford
• Sidcup Westwood Lane
• Welwyn Garden City Black Fan Road
• Warminster Weymouth Street
• Oxted Station Yard
• Reigate Bell Street
• BorehamwoodWeybridge Monument Hill
• Bathgate
• Erskine Bridgewater Shopping Centre
• Gorleston Blackwell Road
• Connah's Quay
• Mansfield Woodhouse
• Elland
• Gloucester Metz Way
• Watford Ascot Road
• Littlehampton Wick
• Helensburgh

Florists closing

• Aberdeen, King Street
• Bradford, Enterprise 5
• Canning Town, London
• Evesham, Four Pool Estate
• Newcastle Under Lyme, Goose Street
• Rubery, Bristol Road South
• Sheffield, Meadowhead
• Sheldon, Birmingham
• St Albans, Hatfield Road
• St Helens, Boundary Road
• Stirchley, Birmingham
• Sunderland, Doxford Park
• Swinton, Swinton Hall Road

Market Kitchens closing 

• Aberdeen, King Street
• Basingstoke, Thorneycroft
• Brentford, Waterside
• Camden Town, London
• Canning Town, London
• Cheltenham, Up Hatherley
• Eccles, Irwell Place, Greater Manchester
• Edgbaston, Birmingham
• Gravesend, Coldharbour Road
• Kirkby, Merseyside
• Leeds, Kirkstall
• Lincoln, Triton Road
• Little Clacton, Centenary Way
• Milton Keynes, Westcroft
• Nottingham, Netherfield
• Stoke, Festival Park
• Tynemouth, Preston Grange, North Shields
• Verwood, Dorset

Pharmacies closing

• Birmingham, Small Heath
• Blackburn, Railway Road
• Bradford, Victoria
• London, Wood Green

Morrisons Daily Stores that have already closed

• Gorleston, Lowestoft Road, Norfolk – April 16
• Peebles, 3-5 Old Town, Scottish Borders – April 16
• Shenfield, 214 Hutton Road, Essex – April 16
• Poole, Waterloo Estate, Dorset – April 16
• Tonbridge, Higham Lane Estate, Kent – April 16
• Romsey, The Cornmarket, Hampshire – April 16
• Stewarton, Lainshaw Street, East Ayrshire, Scotland – April 16
• Selsdon, Featherbed Lane, Greater London – April 16
• Great Barr, Queslett Road, West Midlands – April 16
• Whichham, Oakfield Road, Tyne & Wear – April 16
• Worle, Queensway, Somerset – April 16
• Goring-By-Sea, Strand Parade, West Sussex – April 16
• Woking, Westfield Road, Surrey – April 16
• Wokingham, 40 Peach Street, Berkshire – April 16
• Exeter, 51 Sidwell Street, Devon – April 16
• Bath, Moorland Road, Somerset – April 16
• Haxby, 19 The Village, North Yorkshire – May 14

Rami Baitiéh, Morrisons chief executive says the closures were a 'necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth'.

He said: "Morrisons Cafés are rightly famous for their great quality well-priced food, their place in the local community and their appealing mix of traditional favourites alongside exciting new dishes.

"In most locations the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option."