Ocado: Annual revenue dives to £2.2bn but up on pre-pandemic level as retailer sees strong festive trade
Online grocery retailer Ocado saw its revenue dive to £2.2bn in 2022, down 3.8 per cent from the previous year, but up by 40 per cent on pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The online grocery delivery giant managed to claw back some growth with postive Christmas and New Year trading updates.
It’s rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s have also revealed strong fourth quarter growth results.
Average orders per week for the online-only retailer during the quarter showed 1.9 per cent year-on-year growth, while the company said it had 940,000 active customers by the end of December, growth of 12.9 per cent year on year.
However, customers purchased fewer items, with the average basket value going down by 1.3 per cent.
Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown told Grocery Gazette.“In the third quarter the group’s average selling price rose 5% overall, but within that there was a 2% decline relating to the preference for value goods,”
“We expect this trend to have continued in the final quarter, and we’ll find out the extent of changing customer attitudes over the important festive season,” she added.
Hannah Gibson, chief executive officer for Ocado Retail, indicated optimism for 2023, said: “The year ahead will set us up to deliver strong sales and profit growth over the mid-term. In 2023 we will continue to strengthen and improve our leading customer proposition, including investing in value to help customers manage cost of living pressures, while keeping tight control of our costs.”