Morrisons has scaled back the use of More Card for promotions, bucking the growing trend of loyalty pricing as it fights to build footfall and basket spend.
Analysis of Assosia data by The Grocer of around 20,000 SKUs across baby, bakery, ambient, fresh, frozen and drinks categories found that 705 promotions at Morrisons on 6 October 2025 required a More Card, down from 1,661 a year ago.
Comparison of promotions on the first Monday of each month showed the number of loyalty-only promotions reduced for eight of the last 12 months, although the number of promotions has risen.
Loyalty promotions accounted for 28.9% of the 5,043 promotions at Morrisons on 4 November 2024, and just 11.1% of the 6,348 promotions on offer this month.
By contrast, over 90% of Sainsbury’s promotions require a Nectar card, up from around 80% year on year, with the figure rising to over 99% at Tesco.
Morrisons More was launched in May 2023 and in June 2024 the retailer said it had set a target for the loyalty card to be used in 70% of its transactions.
The supermarket declined to comment on current usage figures.
This week, two reports showed that Morrisons is facing a decline in market share. NIQ reported its market share had dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 8.5% and Worldpanel by Numerator reported that it had slipped by the same amount to 8.3% [both 12 w/e 4 October 2025]. Sales grew by less than inflation at 1.7%, according to Worldpanel till roll data.
Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of shopper marketing agency Savvy said: “Everything at Morrisons is focused on driving footfall and building baskets. Due to significant churn with competitors, especially Aldi and Lidl, they need to make sure their promotions are as broad and involve as many shoppers as possible.
“The best way to get as many people into their shops as often as they can is to let everyone have their best prices.
“If at least a quarter of your shoppers haven’t signed up that means they’re not getting the benefit of your promotions and are more likely to split their shop elsewhere.”
A Morrisons spokeswoman said: “We flex our More Card offers regularly for customers and this is why this varies month by month. For context, More Card members earn five More Points on all products when they scan their card in store, online, in selected Morrisons Daily stores and Groceries on Amazon and Deliveroo. They can also earn More Points on every litre of fuel they buy.
“More Card members can also enjoy regular personalised offers and money-off coupons on the things they buy the most of, as well as More Points when they shop with their favourite brands via the More Partners programme.”
More Card rewards unrelated to pricing include 500 bonus points for meat-free Mondays, a free hot drink in the café when customers spend more than £10 in store, various coupons for additional points and ‘scan to win’ competitions with brands.
Shuttleworth contrasted the simplicity and ubiquity of Clubcard and Nectar loyalty cards with More. “Sainsbury’s and Tesco have created an ecosystem which stops people going elsewhere. They have been going for longer and have established points and rewards as well as loyalty pricing,” she said.
“Complication can be a killer of any loyalty scheme. You don’t want the shopper to do too much work to access the benefits or they just won’t bother. Similarly you don’t want too many promotions and pricing mechanics or they will be standing in your aisles looking up whether they can buy cheaper detergent at B&M.”
No comments yet