Supermarket Morrisons said this morning it will announce plans for its online delivery service in September that will aim to bring it in line with its three bigger rivals.
The supermarket is expected to outline a deal with delivery firm Ocado which distributes Waitrose products as well as its own brand. It said it will launch the service by January.
Although some investors have feted the deal as the dawn of a new era for Ocado - the shares rocketed yesterday in the hope that Morrisons would say more - others fear it could leave the deal with Waitrose in jeopardy.
Ocado shares rose 11.5 per cent yesterday to £2.10, the highest price for nearly 2 years. That values it at £1.3 billion even though it still make little profit. Some investors believe that Morrisons may try to buy Ocado, although it seems more likely that it will use the firm's services as a fast track to try to catch rivals.
Sainsbury's said yesterday that its online food service had almost reached £1 billion in sales. Asda is believed to have a similarly-sized business while Tesco's is at least twice that size.
Morrisons said this morning that same-store sales in the 13 weeks to May 5 fell 1.8 per cent which some analysts have blamed in part on its lack of a grocery delivery arm.
Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King outlined yesterday that using online delivery made customers more loyal even though many analysts fear that it is a drain on profit.
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