Ocado fourth-quarter sales jump 13% as order numbers continue to grow

The average number of orders per week climbed 15.8% to 205,000, although the average order size continued to slip during the period, falling 2.3% to £107.16. Ocado said that was due to “following market moves” on price.

The etailer’s gross group sales, which also account for its tie-up with supermarket giant Morrisons, grew 15% to £381.6m during the 16 weeks to November 29.

But there was no mention of Ocado’s hunt to secure a similar partnership overseas. The etailer wants to launch a tie-up with a grocer in Western Europe or North America to provide them with the infrastructure to launch online.

“We anticipate the retail environment to remain challenging, but expect to continue growing sales ahead of the online grocery market.”

Tim Steiner, Ocado

Ocado boss Tim Steiner had set a target of the year-end to reveal a deal, and told Retail Week in June that it was “in advanced talks with a number of parties”.

But he later admitted a partnership may not be penned by the time Ocado unveils its full-year results on February 2.

Steiner said he was “pleased” with the growth in sales during the fourth quarter, amid a “challenging and competitive” market.

He said Ocado’s 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth reflected “the ongoing shift to online grocery shopping and the specific value customers place on Ocado’s leading proposition”.

“We are committed to further improving our offer to customers and to driving operational and capital efficiency across the business, which we believe will support growth. We anticipate the retail environment to remain challenging, but expect to continue growing sales ahead of the online grocery market.”