Online grocery business Ocado has announced a 15.5% rise in retail sales, beating analysts’ expectations as the online grocery shopping market continued to grow.

In the 12 weeks to August 10th, the company said that it had managed to thrive in an increasingly competitive market, helped by its tie-up with Morrisons, whose website Ocado manages.

 Tim Steiner, Ocado's CEO, said: "We are pleased with the continued steady growth in our business despite the increasingly competitive nature of the market. We remain committed to continually improving the quality of the offer to customers, which we believe will support continued growth. This performance also further demonstrates the ongoing shift to online grocery shopping.

"The retail environment is challenging with an increased level of promotional activity and price reductions across the industry.  However, due to the strength of our offer, we expect to continue growing sales broadly in line with, or slightly ahead of, the online grocery market."