Ocado sales growth slows in Q3
Online grocery retailer Ocado has reported a slowdown in sales in its third quarter as the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games disrupted trading.
In the 12 weeks to 5 August, gross sales rose by 9.9% to £162.6 million compared to growth of 12% in the first quarter.
Ocado, which issued a string of profit warnings last year, said year to date gross sales growth to the end of the third quarter was 11.3%.
The company said it had continued to increase its range in the period and now had over 26,500 stock-keeping units, an increase of over 30% from the start of the year. Average orders per week for the period had increased by 8.6% to 120,494 while average order size was £112.44 compared to £111.08 in the same period in 2011.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Although trade suffered in the third quarter due to the Jubilee and Olypmic events, Ocado said it expects to see an increase in sales growth in the fourth quarter.
Chief executive officer Tim Steiner added: ” The grocery market and the general economic picture remain challenging, with consumer confidence subdued and significant competitive couponing activity.
“Notwithstanding this environment, we have continued to build on the foundations we have put in place to deliver growth and operational improvement through the rest of this year and for the future, and we are targeting an increase in sales growth through the remainder of the period.”
