Morrisons has apologised to customers for delayed Christmas dinner orders following significant IT problems on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The glitch disrupted both delivery services and the supermarket’s loyalty scheme, leaving many shoppers frustrated and anxious about their holiday meals.
Customers reported issues with the More Card discounts, which were not being applied at checkout, leading to unexpected higher costs at the till. Morrisons confirmed on December 23, 2024, the date traditionally expected to be the busiest all year for food shopping, it was experiencing “system issues” impacting its operations.
“This morning we are experiencing some system issues which are principally impacting some More Card discounts and Click and Collect orders,” said a spokeswoman for Morrisons. Shoppers eagerly awaiting their holiday grocery orders took to social media to voice their frustrations. One customer expressed dismay on X about how their shop cost “£50 more than it should have been” due to the malfunctioning loyalty card. Others echoed concerns, indicating they may miss out on the holiday dinner, having booked delivery slots months earlier.
To alleviate customer pain, Morrisons is offering loyalty card holders 10% off their entire shop on December 23 and Christmas Eve, aiming to recoup some trust after these service disruptions. Items like turkeys and champagne have also been discounted for all customers, regardless of loyalty card status. “If More Card prices are not registering, we will apply a 10 percent discount to the customer’s entire shop,” the spokesperson added.
For many, this sudden price jack due to technical errors is particularly distressing when holiday budgets are tight. A user on X shared, “I got an email saying there was an issue with my delivery so it would be late, and now I can’t even log in. I booked this slot months ago and am seriously concerned I’m going to be without food for Christmas!”
Reports suggest the Morrisons website was experiencing its own problems, slowing down and crashing intermittently. Customers trying to log in faced hurdles, which only compounded their frustrations during the peak shopping rush. Morrisons acknowledged these outages, stating some specific home delivery issues were to be resolved directly with the affected customers.
The circumstances surrounding the glitch didn’t go unnoticed by analysts either. Natalie Berg, a retail analyst, captured the collective anxiety felt across the shopper spectrum: “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.”
With consumers opting for Morrisons due to significant Christmas discounts and pricing wars being rampant between leading supermarkets, the malfunction has consequences beyond irritated customers. Sue Davies, head of food policy at consumer group Which?, weighed in as well, noting, “Just days before Christmas, Morrisons’ customers will be understandably frustrated... The supermarket must work quickly to resolve these issues and avoid lasting damage to its reputation.”
With the prospect of food sales hitting record highs this Christmas—as market research group Kantar estimates over £13 billion will be spent by shoppers—retailers like Morrisons cannot afford such disruptions. “If we hope to regain customer trust after this crisis, speed and efficiency must be prioritized moving forward,” Berg warned.
For those impacted by the delivery and price issues, Morrisons advises customers to await communication if their orders are delayed and also suggested click-and-collect customers should wait for confirmation emails before heading to the store. Customers who typically redeem More Card discounts or vouchers were also informed of the manual processing requirement for store staff.
The combination of this unfortunate glitch amid the Christmas rush has been frustrating for many who rely on the usual efficiency of supermarkets during the holiday season. Parents, hosts, and diners across the nation are left with looming uncertainties about their meal preparations just days before Christmas, with the promise of resolutions yet to be substantiated.
Morrisons has undertaken to rectify the operational failures and pledged to offer discounts as forms of goodwill to its loyal customers. Still, the long-term effects of this snag on their reputation remain to be seen, as trust from shoppers was already testing the waters due to stiff competition from other supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury's.
