(Bloomberg) -- Ocado Group Plc’s online grocery business saw higher sales as it lowered prices to attract British shoppers emerging from a generational cost-of-living crisis.

The venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer Group Plc said volumes grew 8.1% in the 13 weeks to March 3. Its number of active customers also rose to 1.02 million, with revenue climbing 11% to £645 million ($816 million).

The business kept revenue guidance unchanged at mid to high single-digit percentage growth, yet Ocado Group shares still rose as much as 6% when the market opened Tuesday. The stock is down more than 37% since the start of the year.

It comes as data Tuesday from Kantar showed Ocado was the fastest-growing UK grocer in the past three months, with sales up 9.5% from the same period last year. Ocado and Waitrose, both favorites of England’s middle classes, were the only food retailers to gain market share in the period, Kantar said.

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Ocado is attracting “a wide plethora of customers,” Chief Executive Officer Hannah Gibson said during a call with journalists. Once someone has used Ocado for the first time, “we tend to find they stick with us,” she added.

The online grocer said its average selling prices rose just 2.2%, below the rate of UK inflation.

Tesco price match

Ocado returned to profit at the end of last year after a tough period following the pandemic, when shoppers returned to stores and then shifted to discounters amid soaring inflation. The business has been offering promotions to first-time users and launched a program matching Tesco Plc’s prices.

Volume growth should help Ocado make the most of its new fulfillment centers, said William Woods, an analyst with Bernstein, adding that it would improve operating efficiencies.

Ocado is at pains to turn the joint venture with M&S around and demonstrate the success of its warehouse technology. M&S has been withholding a final performance-related payment to Ocado over the venture’s failure to meet targets.

(Adds Kantar data and comments from the CEO.)

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