More hours to shop as Morrisons finds customers’ lifestyles are changing

Many of Bradford-based Morrisons stores will now stay open until 9pm and some will welcome customers until as late as 10pm.

The supermarket giant said the move followed research amongst customers who wanted to see stores opening longer with more consistent opening times.

Stores in the Yorkshire cities of Leeds, Bradford and Hull are among those to close later.

Group retail director Mark Harrison said: “At Morrisons we are committed to staying in tune with our customer’s changing needs and it is clear from our research that shoppers’ lifestyles are changing with people working longer hours or working different shifts.

“By ensuring that our trading periods remain the same from Monday to Saturday this makes it much easier for customers to remember while extending our opening hours in areas where there is the demand it means shoppers can access the products and services they need, when they need them.”

Mr Harrison added: “We have just forecast a sales uplift that will cover the additional wages. We are expecting to beat that forecast.”

The move ends a long-standing company policy of closing its stores early.

The market research took place over the last two years, the firm said.