COVID-19: Sainsbury’s and Ocado welcome sustained growth in shipments despite pandemic abatement | Economic news

Two major online grocery delivery operators have reported sustained sales growth despite an easing of coronavirus restrictions that has increased competition for sales to consumers.

the COVID-19[female[feminine The pandemic has forced the supermarket industry to the front line – forcing it to invest heavily in feeding the nation as demand for deliveries surges amid orders to keep everyone at home.

Tuesday’s business updates from Sainsbury’s and Ocado suggest there hasn’t been a slowdown in the trend and that customers remain firmly focused on dining at home despite the reopening of pubs, cafes and restaurants .

Sainsbury’s said 18% of all food sales are now made through its website, up from 8% before the pandemic.

Like-for-like total sales, excluding fuel, increased 1.6% in the 16 weeks leading up to June 26, its first quarter.

Analysts had expected a 1.7% drop given a difficult comparison to the same time period a year ago, when shelves were laid bare by panicked buyers as Britain’s first foreclosure hit was installing.

The chain – just behind Tesco in terms of market share – said sales of groceries, general merchandise and clothing were all higher than expected.

Sales at Argos, however, were hit particularly hard – down 3.7% – as the stock of home office equipment a year earlier has not been repeated.

Sainsbury’s said grocery delivery was 142% up from two years earlier, before the pandemic.

It was a similar story for Ocado who said its joint venture with M&S saw a 20% increase in revenue in the first half of its fiscal year ended May 30.

Sales reached £ 1.2 billion, the company said, as it saw “strong” growth in orders and customer base despite the easing of restrictions.

Ocado separately announced a new partnership for its robotic warehouse technology with Alcampo in Spain.