Ocado sales and volumes have surged in the first quarter as the online supermarket “stepped up” to expand its product range and availability.
In the 13 weeks to 3 March 2024, Ocado sales jumped 10.6% to £645.3m, while volumes were up 8.1% to £242.1m.
Ocado Retail chief executive Hanna Gibson praised the grocer’s “strong start to the year,” adding that it extended its product range “with the strong growth of core M&S grocery lines and the debut of Makers Market, using our unique model to showcase incredible small brands”.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
She added that this helped in “further enhancing slot and product availability”.
Ocado Retail – which is a joint venture with M&S – welcomed more than 1m customers over the quarter up 6.4% year on year, while average orders per week rose 8.4% to 414,000.
Gibson said: “We are delivering improvements in our proposition for customers, across unbeatable choice, unrivalled service and reassuringly good value.”
At the beginning of the year, Ocado reduced the prices of more than 1,700 cupboard, fridge, freezer and household products as part of its Big Price Drop campaign.
Gibson added that the retailer’s strategy is “resonating with customers and volume growth is building well. There’s still so much more we can do and I’m looking forward to raising the bar even further in 2024.”
