Ocado Retail lifts full-year guidance as Q3 revenues jump

Online grocer and logistics group Ocado has upgraded its revenue guidance for its retail division following a strong third-quarter performance which saw revenues jump as both customer numbers and the number of orders rose.

Ocado Retail, a joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, is now targeting low double-digit percentage growth in sales over the year to 3 December, from the £2.8bn generated last year. That’s up from earlier guidance for mid-high single-digit growth given in July.

Retail revenues grew by 15.5% in the quarter ended 1 September to £658m, due to a 15.4% increase in total items sold to 249.9m and a 14.7% rise in average orders per week to 437,000.

Ocado said this was driven by a 10.3% rise in active customers to 1.06m, in addition to improved frequency of orders, as availability of delivery slots improved.

Average selling prices were 0.4% lower than last year as the company continued to invest in price and value perception amid a UK grocery market where prices have grown by 2.0%, the company said.

"Our strategy remains focused on giving our customers unbeatable choice, unrivalled service and reassuringly good value. We're seeing the momentum of this, with more customers shopping with us more often, getting even better service at better value," said Ocado Retail's chief executive Hannah Gibson.