AO.com delivers sales rise over Christmas peak

The online electricals specialist said total sales jumped 11.2% year on year in the three months to December 31, 2017.

AO.com confirmed that full-year performance will fall within analysts’ expectations; however, it said it remained cautious given the “uncertain UK economic outlook”.

AO.com chief executive Steve Caunce said: “Looking ahead, although we need to be mindful of the uncertain economic outlook (particularly in the UK), as long as we are relentless in our focus on making things easy for our customers, we can be confident that they will continue to choose the AO Way.”

UK sales advanced 11.4% over the period, which Caunce said was particularly pleasing given the “fiercely competitive environment”.

He said: “Our customers in the UK benefited from our Black Friday deals this year over a two-week period, enabling us to manage demand more effectively and deliver an even better experience for customers.

“We are encouraged by the sales growth in our newer categories and we have continued to deliver excellent customer service throughout the period across the business.”

AO.com’s fledgling European business notched up strong growth, up 58.4% year on year on a constant currency basis.

Caunce said the European performance was in line with plans and was achieved with limited above-the-line marketing expenditure.