Morrisons becomes latest retailer to open online shopping store

Deliveries to begin in the Midlands on 10 January - half of UK to be covered by 2015

Morrisons has become the last of the 'big four' UK supermarket chains to launch its own online shopping and delivery service when it opened up its new website today.

Available to peruse at groceries.morrisons.com, deliveries will begin in the Midlands from 10 January 2014, with half the rest of the country being covered by the beginning of 2015.

A particular twist from Morrisons' offering will be the ability for customers to choose how many of the fresh foods they order are prepared. For example, the thickness of a cut of steak, or to request that a loaf of bread is cut

Delivery charges have been set at £1, £3 or £5 depending on whether customers choose peak, off-peak or standard times, within one-hour time-slots.

"This fresh food offer will be the closest thing on the internet to being in a store and selecting food yourself. Customers do have concerns about buying fresh food online and today we believe we've come up with the answer," said Morrisons CEO Dalton Philips.

An "expert review" will provide what the company promises will be an honest appraisal of the "quality and seasonality" of "every item of produce", while customers will be urged to conduct a doorstep check and reject anything they are not satisfied with.

"We have spent a lot of time with customers and that journey doesn't stop here. We would love the customers to use the on-site feedback buttons to let us know how we can make our offer even better," said Simon Thompson, managing director for Online Food at Morrisons.