Asda turns to Ocado software for home deliveries from next year
Asda has agreed to use Ocado software for home deliveries from next year, extending the technology across its online grocery business. The change will reach deliveries from stores and dark stores from early 2027, while also covering click and collect and orders placed through Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat.
Asda online offer
Allan Leighton, Asda’s executive chair, said the partnership will strengthen the supermarket’s online offer. “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.”
For Asda, the deal puts Ocado’s underlying technology into more parts of the business than a single delivery channel. Customers using the company’s website, apps or third-party delivery services will be routed through the same system as the rollout expands.
Ocado technology rollout
Ocado’s software will not be used in its robot-filled warehouses under this deal. Ocado built its name on large automated sites that fill shopping baskets for delivery, but Asda’s agreement points to a different use of that system: software rather than the warehouse model itself.
The timing also lands as Asda tries to rebuild share in a grocery market where its UK share has fallen from 14.3% before the 2021 takeover to 11.5% in Kantar data. The company is Britain’s third-largest supermarket, and the new arrangement gives it a technology partner while it seeks to reverse that slide.
Tim Steiner response
Tim Steiner said he was delighted that Asda had chosen Ocado to support the next phase of its 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.”
Ocado shares rose 9% on Friday morning after the announcement. The company has rarely made a profit since it was founded 26 years ago, and its share price had fallen from more than £27 to £2.08 before the deal was announced.
For shoppers, the practical change is straightforward: Asda is lining up Ocado technology to sit behind more of the ways people already buy groceries from it, from store delivery to click and collect and app orders. The first visible shift comes next year, with the wider delivery rollout set for early 2027.
