Morrisons: Amazon Prime Now service capacity has doubled during lockdown

• Morrisons’ Prime service has grown to cover most of London and more cities across the UK

• It will have been extended nationwide to over 40 stores by the end of May

• Plans to expand the tie-up between Morrisons and Amazon pre-date the coronavirus outbreak

Morrisons has announced it has more than doubled the number of stores serving its online partner Amazon Prime Now, as it ramps up online capacity during the coronavirus outbreak.

The supermarket said under the expansion the same-day, online grocery delivery service to Prime members had grown to cover most of London and more cities across the UK.

As of March this year the service operated from 17 Morrisons stores in eight cities across the UK, including Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

By the end of May, it will have been extended nationwide to over 40 stores, covering the UK’s largest cities, including Edinburgh, Cardiff and Bristol.

Plans to expand the tie-up between Morrisons and Amazon pre-date the outbreak.

Morrisons revealed in September it had signed a multi-year deal with the online giant after spending in its traditional supermarkets took a “battering” from consumer anxiety over Brexit.

It has been seeking to build up the alliance ever since it emerged in May last year that Morrisons would no longer be Ocado’s exclusive digital partner in the UK.

However, Morrisons CEO David Potts, who is due to deliver the company’s first-quarter results tomorrow morning, said the partnership with Amazon was now also helping Morrisons play its full part in feeding the nation.

“Through our conveniently located stores and the popular Amazon Prime Now service, more and more customers will be able to access deliveries to their doorstep at this very difficult time,” he said.

Amazon UK country manager Doug Gurr said: “We are pleased to be able to support more customers through the expansion of Morrisons on Prime Now. “The convenient service enables us to offer Morrisons’ high-quality grocery selection to even more Prime members.”