Morrisons is introducing a new tracking system to monitor how quickly its shop floor staff stack shelves, as the supermarket embarks on a major operational overhaul to improve efficiency and win back shoppers.
The new performance monitoring app, which is being rolled out across hundreds of stores, allows managers to see real-time data on staff productivity — including how fast employees unload and restock items.
The tool highlights workers performing below the pace of their peers, a system that some employees have dubbed “stopwatching”. Managers will be able to target underperforming staff for coaching, retraining or further supervision.
Morrisons says tracking aims to ‘support and coach’ colleagues
The supermarket, owned by US private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), said the initiative was designed to “identify opportunities to coach colleagues and understand where additional support or training may be required.”
A spokesperson said: “This will allow us to be fair and consistent in recognising colleagues. The new system will help teams understand their own performance.”
Morrisons confirmed it has long collected productivity data to ensure staffing levels are appropriate, but previously this information was shared only periodically with managers. The new app gives immediate visibility, enabling store leaders to respond faster to inefficiencies.
The changes are part of a broader push by chief executive Rami Baitiéh, who took over in 2023, to raise in-store standards and customer service after years of underperformance against rivals.
Earlier this year, Morrisons told “idling” staff they would lose access to stockrooms, limiting backroom entry to approved workers as part of a customer-facing initiative aimed at keeping more staff on the shop floor.
The company said the move ensures “the right colleagues are in the right place to deliver the best service to customers at all times.”
Morrisons’ efforts come after a difficult financial year. Sales fell by more than £1 billion to £17 billion, its lowest level since CD&R’s 2021 takeover. The decline has raised fears that the retailer could soon fall behind Lidl in market share, having already been overtaken by Aldi in 2022.
According to Kantar data, Lidl now holds 8.2% of the UK grocery market, compared with 8.4% for Morrisons, a gap analysts expect to close before the end of the year.
Adding to the pressure, the company suffered a reputational setback in August, when dozens of stores failed food hygiene inspections, with some scoring as low as zero. Morrisons said it was taking “immediate action to address and resolve all the issues raised.”
Morrisons continues to trail major rivals including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, M&S, and Ocado, according to the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index.
Analysts say the new monitoring technology is part of Baitiéh’s strategy to drive accountability and improve in-store execution, though it risks stirring employee unease over surveillance and workload expectations.
One retail analyst noted: “This is a classic private-equity-style efficiency drive — Morrisons is trying to squeeze more performance from existing resources as it fights to stay in the top four.”
The coming months will be critical for Morrisons as it seeks to regain momentum in a highly competitive grocery market dominated by price wars, supply chain inflation and discount disruption.
With customer trust fragile and margins tight, the supermarket’s shift toward data-led management and stricter performance tracking could determine whether Baitiéh’s turnaround plan succeeds — or alienates the very workforce he depends on to deliver it.