Demand for the Morrisons.com delivery service in Yorkshire has already exceeded that in the Midlands where the supermarkets main online distribution centre is located.
The Morrisons.com service was only launched to Yorkshire post codes last week after a three-and-a-half week launch period in the Midlands in the vicinity of the automated warehouse in Dordon, Warwickshire.
But, speaking on the day of the launch last Monday, Morrisons managing director for online food Simon Thompson told the Yorkshire Post: 'We're very happy with Yorkshire pre-bookings. We've seen greater demand from Yorkshire shoppers than we've seen from Warwickshire.'
That was despite the fact that the Warwickshire trial - within 45 minutes drive of Birmingham, Leicester and Coventry - covered 12 per cent of UK homes compared to just 8 per cent in the Yorkshire area phase of the plan.
Morrisons is located in Bradford and West Yorkshire is considered to be its heartland. Morrisons' partner Ocado is currently looking for another giant warehouse in Lancashire or Yorkshire to support growth in the North of England.
Until then, groceries delivered in the Yorkshire area are likely to be packed in Dordon, shipped by lorry to a smaller Leeds 'satellite' warehouse before being loaded into Sprinter vans for the final leg of the journey.
Morrisons is expecting to cover 50 per cent of the country by early next year and plans to launch a London service over summer.
It is likely to be a long time after that before the large, automated northern warehouse opens for business. Ocado, mainly sells Waitrose products but also has its own label, also operates a large warehouse in Hatfield, just north of London from which it delivers orders to its own site.
The Yorkshire warehouse is likely to be split between its own service and Morrisons.
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