Introduction

Verdict had the opportunity to visit Ocado's headquarters in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and to sit down with the grocer's management team. We reveal some of our findings and analyse the long term prospects for the UK pureplay and the UK online food & grocery market.

Scope of this research

• Analysis of the performance of the UK online food & grocery market, including market value and growth rates.
• In-depth overview of Ocado and its position in the market.
• An examination of the medium to long term prospects for the UK online food & grocery market, including market value and growth forecast.
• The challenges facing Ocado and how we believe it should respond, with an analysis of the grocer's long term growth potential.

Research and analysis highlights

Verdict estimates that that the UK online food & grocery market experienced growth of 409.3% between 2003 and 2009.

Ocado has exploited emerging trends, and its market share gains to date are a reflection of its innovative approach and pro-active response to the threat from larger operators in the sector.

In light of slowing market growth, we believe that Ocado is well positioned in the short term but faces a number of long term challenges.

Key reasons to purchase this research

• Understand the major growth drivers in the online food & grocery market during the past decade.
• Identify how Ocado has been able to create a distinctive proposition, thus allowing it to gain a foothold in a competitive market.
• Identify the key factors which are set impact the growth prospects both for Ocado and the overall market in the long term.