Ocado: Coronavirus causing ‘unprecedented strain’
ith ‘unprecedented’ fast becoming the word of the week, Ocado is the latest group to warn of never-before-seen trading conditions spurred by coronavirus.
In a trading update covering the 19 weeks to the start of March, the group said it had seen “no significant impact” from the virus over the period, but said it had been under “unprecedented strain” since the start of the month.
The update comes after Ocado announced a temporary suspension of its website and app following a “staggering” amount of traffic. As my colleague
Chris Johnston reported yesterday:
The online supermarket said the closure will allow it to carry out essential work that will help ensure distribution of products and delivery slots is as fair and accessible as possible for all customers going forward.
Existing orders will still be honored but customers will not be able to edit an existing order or book a new delivery for the next few days.
From more:
Ocado shuts website until Saturday
It reported retail revenue growth of . 3pc for the quarter, the number of orders a week increase even as order size remained fairly flat.
Melanie Smith, its chief executive, said:
The impact of higher basket values and order demand, amid growing public concern over the coronavirus, was limited in the quarter, although this has since picked up significantly and growth in the second quarter is so far double that of the first quarter. We expect the impact of forward buying, however, to unwind at some point.
In recent weeks, the company said, “We have experienced an increase in order demand and basket size as a result of customer behavior changing in reaction to the spread of the COVID – 35 virus. The mix of ambient goods within customer baskets has also increased.
The FTSE 728 group said its estimates for retail revenue growth for the full year were unchanged, adding: “we consider there to have been a large element of forward buying of ambient items and there may be further disruptions ahead”
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