Ocado revenue growth doubles as Brits panic buy in virus crisis

Online retailer Ocado said second quarter revenue growth had doubled compared with the first three months of the year as Britons started to stockpile food in response to the coronavirus crisis, placing the business under "unprecedented strain" .

The company said first quarter revenue rose 10.3% to £441.2m, adding that it had been forced to temporarily shutdown its online store, app and stop taking new customer registrations due to “unprecedent strain” on the business.

“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,” the company said on Thursday.

The joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer reported a spike in the value of customer baskets since the end of the first quarter.

The average number of weekly orders during the period was up 10.2% to 343,000, while the value of the average order increased 0.3% to £110.24.