Mobile dominates Ocado order process

Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 09:18 by Paul Tissington

The majority of Ocado customers who place orders for a grocery delivery when safe shopping online now do so from a mobile device, the retailer reported this week.

The rise of m-commerce has impacted all parts of the marketplace, with 55 per cent of the firm’s loyal users choosing to shun desktop computers and laptops in favour of smartphones and tablets, according to Internet Retailing.

Ocado confirmed that it has enjoyed a 13.8 per cent increase in sales over the past year, enabling it to make a healthy profit of £8.5 million. This is all the more impressive given that it spent more than a decade failing to push its finances into the black.

Price cuts designed to win over more customers did mean that average order values dipped by 2.2 per cent, but the results are positive as a whole. And the firm’s subscription-based Smart Pass scheme is also proving to be popular, with most customers choosing to embrace it in order to eliminate charges for individual deliveries.

Company spokesperson, Tim Steiner, explained that being able to offer customers the chance to effectively become members meant that it was easier to secure repeat visits to its site, as well as enhancing levels of loyalty.

Meanwhile, the convenience of being able to use a mobile to carry out safe shopping online is convincing more people to pick up their groceries via the web rather than on the high street. Since Ocado has no physical outlets, it is wholly reliant upon success in the e-commerce space.

Growing competition from established rivals such as Tesco and new contenders including Amazon has put Ocado in a tougher position in recent months. But the firm expects to see sales continue to grow over the coming 12 months, barring any major upsets.