Morrisons, Co-op and Asda rolling out major change with ‘price hike’ warning | UK | News
The change will see real-time price increases in stores (Image: Getty)
UK supermarkets are undergoing major change that could lead to price rises on many everyday items and increase the cost of consumers’ baskets depending on when and where they shop.
Electronic shelf labels (ESL) that allow real-time price changes are reportedly rolling out in many stores.
Morrisons, Co-op and Asda are among the supermarkets that will install the technology.
The news follows a fresh wave of analysis from the Bank of England; Shoppers are concerned that prices of basic food items may fluctuate depending on the time of day, visitor density or demand.
Dynamic pricing is used every day in many stores, but this new introduction of ESLs makes it even more apparent to shoppers.
Tesco and Sainsburys are also understood to be trialling ESLs.
Once the rollout is complete, Morrisons will have 10.8 million individual ESLs on its property.
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Gordon Macpherson, group productivity director at Morrisons, said: “As digital innovation reshapes the digital landscape, we are constantly evaluating new technologies that can help us serve our customers better.
“We are excited to be the first major supermarket group in the UK to implement digital shelf edge labeling across our entire supermarket footprint and look forward to introducing the technology in 2026.”
The technology will allow employees to spend less time changing labels in stores and focus on helping shoppers and replenishing shelves.
But despite its benefits, there are major concerns that the change will cause prices to rise rapidly, especially in the current uncertain environment.
Conflict in the Middle East is causing inflation in many regions and energy is greatly affected, but households are starting to see this impact elsewhere as well.
A woman shopping for product [stock image] (Image: Getty)
According to the Office for National Statistics, annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation increased in March compared to February and stood at 3.3 percent.
It seems that inflation in food and beverage prices has also accelerated due to the monthly price increases of products such as chocolate, coffee and fresh fish in supermarkets.
Prices continue to fluctuate as temporary ceasefires continue and peace negotiations hope to resume, and ESLs will be able to adjust prices on the fly based on what is happening around the world.
Accordingly Food and Beverage Technology, People are prepared for prices to rise, but the thought that the increases could immediately hit the shelves without giving households the opportunity to allocate their budgets creates concern.
