Ocado sales see big rise

Ocado sales have risen by 25% despite the consumer slowdown.

Ocado has posted a 25% rise in sales in the past three months, despite a slowdown in consumer spending which has hit other retailers hard.

The online grocer said more people were visiting its site and shopping more frequently, although this has led to a drop in basket size, down 1.1% in the 12 weeks to 20 February. Ocado will soon face increased competition from Waitrose, which is relaunching its home delivery service in the battle for affluent customers in the south east.

Gross sales at Ocado climbed 24.7% to £146.2m in the quarter while average orders per week were up 26.1% to 103,207 from 81,823 in the same period last year. The average order size fell to £118.06 from £119.38.