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LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - British online supermarket
Ocado said growth in the last three weeks was double
that of its first quarter, as panicked shoppers stock up on
goods ahead of an expected shutdown to tackle the coronavirus.
The pioneer of online shopping said it had been forced to
stop registrations from new customers and impose a queuing
system online after it saw a several hundred percentage increase
in web traffic.
Customers were also spending more and buying more ambient
goods. The government has so far shut schools and advised people
to avoid pubs, restaurants and theatres but it has warned it is
ready to adopt more stringent measures to curb the outbreak.
Ocado said its guidance for Retail Revenue growth in
full-year 2020 of 10-15% was unchanged, at this point, as it
believes there is a large element of forward buying, leading to
disruption further down the line.
"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," Ocado Retail's Chief Executive Melanie Smith said.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Kate Holton; editing by Guy
Faulconbridge)
