Ocado has seen sales growth slow over its final quarter as it struggled to hire enough drivers to fulfil online grocery demand.
In the three months to December 3, revenue growth dropped to 11.6 per cent, down from 13.1 per cent in the prior quarter, while average order growth also slowed to 11.1 per cent.
Despite growing demand for online groceries, the retailer has struggled to attract drivers in order to maintain its rates of growth.
The Freight Transport Association recently boosted drivers’ pay in order to attract more to the job.
“A shortage of capacity, with the lack of drivers in certain locations being the largest factor, restricted our sales growth,” Ocado boss Tim Steiner said.
“While this driver shortage has now been largely resolved, there was some short-term impact on average orders per week over the period.”
This come just weeks after Ocado secured a deal with French supermarket Groupe Casino, boosting its share prices 20 per cent as investors hailed the long-awaited move towards international expansion.
