Asda has revealed a continued recovery in sales over the past three months as it pushes ahead with its turnaround efforts.
It came after the UK’s third-largest grocer struck a deal with Ocado to improve its online grocery service for customers.
On Friday afternoon, Asda said like-for-like sales dipped by 0.8% over the three months to March 31, compared with a year earlier.
The retailer said this showed an improvement from a 4.2% decline in the final quarter of 2025.
It added that total revenues, excluding fuel, were down 1.5% over the latest quarter.
Bosses have said the improvement was linked to investment in pricing and a recovery across its systems after a botched IT upgrade last year led to “severe disruption”.
Asda said it has made “continued progress” against its “formula for growth” turnaround plan being spearheaded by executive chairman Allan Leighton.
Mr Leighton said: “In our previous trading update, I described performance as edging forwards and this continued through Q1, finishing the quarter broadly where we expected to be.
“This progress is due to the stabilisation of our core systems, which has enabled us to deliver ongoing improvements in availability, price and customer satisfaction.
“It has also given us the confidence to launch ‘Take a Fresh Look’ – an open invitation for shoppers to come back and give Asda another go.”
Earlier on Friday, Asda revealed a new partnership with Ocado which will see it roll out Ocado’s Smart Platform technology across its website and app, in-store picking and its home delivery service.
Asda said the partnership will start in 2027 with an upgrade to its website and online shopping experience.
Mr Leighton said: “We know that continued success in this highly competitive market is dependent on providing a positive experience for customers every time they shop.
“Partnering with Ocado will strengthen our online offer and provide a consistent and high-quality experience for millions of shoppers, from order through to delivery, while supporting our formula for growth.”
The boss, who returned to the retailer in late 2024 after previously leading the firm more than 20 years earlier, has sought to improve product availability and value for shoppers through price investment.
In March, he said the group still had “plenty to do” to turn around its fortunes.
Asda, which has around 1,100 stores, will first work on upgrades for its website and online shopping, followed by solutions for picking products in-store and “last-mile delivery” improvements.
The retailer said this is designed to help shops manage orders more efficiently, improve deliveries and make more slots available for customers.
Ocado’s fulfilment technology is used in more than 1,000 grocery stores globally.
Tim Steiner, chief executive of Ocado Group, said: “We’re delighted that Asda has chosen Ocado to support the next phase of their online growth.
“The UK remains one of the world’s most competitive and fast-evolving online grocery markets, where technology, scale and continuous innovation are increasingly important for retailers looking to maintain leadership positions.
“Through this partnership, Asda will be able to deploy a technology platform already processing more than 70 million orders annually worldwide, supporting market-leading customer propositions across 11 countries.”
