Disappointing Christmas trading saw Morrisons deliver the worst seasonal results of the major retailers with a 5.6 per cent drop in like-for-like sales.

The Bradford-based supermarket chain has warned that its 2013 profits will be at the lower end of expectations at around £800 million.

In the six weeks to January 5 total like-for-like sales fell by 7.1 per cent, if fuel is included. The poor result prompted a retail analyst to challenge Morrisons’ boss Dalton Philips to inject new ideas into the he business.

Seasonal trading was hit as hard- pressed consumers economised and managed their budgets very tightly, buying less and shopping selectively across a range of formats and retailers.

Difficult market conditions were intensified for Morrisons by the accelerating importance of the online and convenience channels, where the retailer is under-represented. Its first online grocery orders through Morrisons.com will be delivered today and aims to reach half of UK households by the end of the year.

“Although the strength of our unique supply chain and the commitment of our colleagues enabled us to maintain high standards of service and strong availability throughout this peak period, our sales performance was not as strong as we had planned,” the company said.

Morrisons said its financial position remained strong and the rollout of convenience stores had seen 85 open to date, with a target of 200 by the end of this year.

Chief executive Dalton Philips said: “In a very tough market our sales performance over Christmas was disappointing.

“However we are firmly focused on driving our core business and accelerating our penetration of the fast growing channels.

“Whilst the sales environment continues to be very challenging, we have continued to manage our business very tightly. The board expects that our full-year underlying profit performance will be towards the bottom of the range of current market expectations.”

Retail analyst Phil Dorrell says Mr Phillips needs to inject ideas into the business which was most susceptible to the onslaught by budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl which continue to win market share from the ‘‘Big Four’ Mr Dorrell, director of retail consultancy Retail Remedy, said: “Morrisons has become the unwilling poster child for the squeezed middle in supermarkets. Of all the Big Four, its offering is closest to that of the increasingly confident Lidl and Aldi.

“As a result, Morrisons is haemorrhaging customers to its cheaper rivals, without being able to appeal to the middle-class shoppers who have helped Sainsbury’s thrive.

“Such dreadful Christmas numbers will concentrate Dalton Philips’ mind. He must urgently inject new ideas into Morrisons’ strategy.”

Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer, headed by former Morrisons boss Marc Bolland, suffered a tenth successive quarterly like-for-like sales decline in its homewares and clothing division which slumped by 2.1 per cent.

A 0.5 per cent improvement in the eight weeks to Christmas Eve was not enough to save M&S from the deteriorating overall performance for general merchandise.