Morrisons' sales rise 7.3%

British supermarket Morrisons today said it attracted half a million more new customers each week to its stores in the first quarter as like-for-like sales rose 7.3%.

The group kept up the pressure on rivals with heavy discounting, offering 8,000 price cuts under the group’s “Price Crunch” campaign.

Morrisons’ sales hike in the 13 weeks to May 3, which excludes fuel but includes VAT, was broadly in line with the 7.9% hike in annual sales reported in March, despite easing food price inflation.