Online supermarket Ocado's sales soar 40% in lockdown Britain

British online supermarket and technology company Ocado said on Wednesday retail revenue soared 40.4% year-on-year in its second-quarter so far as shoppers in coronavirus lockdown sought deliveries to avoid venturing out.

That compared to growth of 10.3% in its first quarter to March 1. Britain has been on lockdown since March 23.

Ocado said it adapted its platform and ramped up capacity rapidly in order to meet unprecedented demand and was now delivering significantly more groceries to UK households than ever before. It noted that the number of items per customer basket appeared to have passed its peak but remained high, as more normal shopping behavior had returned, and the share of fresh and chilled products in the mix, relative to ambient store cupboard items, was also returning to normal.

Ocado said it expected the long-term shift towards the online grocery to accelerate post the COVID-19 crisis. But it highlighted uncertainties about the length of the crisis, customer reaction immediately afterward, and its long-term impact on customers' disposable incomes. So it said it had suspended its guidance for retail revenue for the full year 2020 until it could accurately forecast likely outcomes.

Ocado's retail business is a joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer. Ocado's supply deal with Waitrose will finish at the end of August, when it will be replaced with M&S.