Morrisons in Morpeth has had a change around. I noticed something was up as soon as I entered the shop as the flower stalls were in your face rather than being off to the side. It was very early in the morning and so it took me a while to notice there was more.
Everything was fine at the fish and meat isles, as well as dairy but where the beer and wine should have been now stood the oils and condiments. So it went on through the rest of the store with my usual goods located in unusual places.
I have no idea why Morrisons wanted to change the store layout and didn’t want to ask. I wanted to remain cool with the idea and not come across as so old that things such as this would throw me yet many others were not in the same boat.
People were scratching their heads and moaning to the staff that they couldn’t find anything. Lost souls were wandering up and down unfamiliar isles. When I finally got to the till the customers in front were talking about it to the cashier. Their world had been turned upside down, and there was even talk of posting something on Morpeth Matters, the local Facebook page for those inclined that way.
The changes were interesting from two perspectives. Firstly it shows how something fairly trivial in someone’;s life can really upset their rhythm. Shopping for food is a regular occurrence and must become rote very quickly. Secondly it showed me how there were parts of the store that I never visited. Only by disrupting the flow of people around the store was I forced to consider that other products existed.
Maybe this was the point of the change. No doubt the store management have done their homework, have identified the best places for products to sell and are forcing us to take a fresh look. A sign of the times?
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 