Online retailer Ocado has maintained its full year guidance after sales increased during the first quarter.

In the 13 weeks to 26 February, revenue rose by 3.4 per cent year on year to £584 million.

Ocado said it had seen the number of new customers continue to grow and active customers increased to 951,000, an uptick of almost 14 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Orders increased by 3.6 per cent during the quarter, yet the size of the average basket fell by around seven per cent to 45 items. Ocado said this was offset by the increase in orders.

Commenting on the news Hannah Gibson, Ocado Retail’s chief executive, said: “While the trading environment remains challenging, we expect to build momentum through the second half of the year, as we improve our proposition, grow our customer base, and no longer lap Covid shopping behaviours. This solid 2023 performance will enable us to return to sales growth and profitability.”

Ocado saw record sales over the festive period, with sales jumping 15 per cent over the five days before Christmas.The online food retailer recorded revenue of £549.4 million in the 13 weeks to 27 November, a rise of 0.3 per cent compared to the same quarter the previous year.

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