Staff welcomed shoppers to a newly rebranded food retailer in Abingdon this morning.

The former Budgens outlet on the Peachcroft estate has undergone a transformation into a Morrisons Daily outlet, resuming operations at 9am following brief refurbishment work.

This launch means the town now has its second fresh supermarket in just two days, after the M&S foodhall opened at Fairacres Retail Park on Wednesday.

The Peachcroft site marks Morrisons’ inaugural store in Abingdon. Additional Daily convenience outlets have recently opened in Botley, Blackbird Leys, Bicester, Wallingford and Thame.

While no queue formed outside the new Morrisons, a steady stream of customers entered after the doors opened.

Local resident Christine Lo was among the first to visit the newly launched outlet.

She said she was pleased Morrisons had arrived in the area, as it was the only one in Abingdon. Her contacts in Birmingham frequented the chain and valued its competitive pricing. Budgens had charged fairly high prices, and she expected this would prove superior. The town had already welcomed a new M&S, and now a new Morrisons as well. Her household typically carried out main grocery shopping at Tesco Extra but might increase their visits here.

Sarah Redley manages the newly established Morrisons Daily franchise.

She noted the business had owned the premises for 16 years, with this being a Morrisons franchise operation. They would now be able to stock a significantly wider product range for a store of this size. They anticipated Peachcroft customers would continue shopping there alongside new residents from nearby developments. Ms Redley thanked colleagues for their efforts in preparing for the relaunch and observed that some staff had served for more than two decades, marking an exciting fresh period for them.

The Bradford-based Morrisons chain operates full-sized supermarkets in Banbury and Carterton.