Ocado to ramp up robot wars: Online supermarket aims to deliver groceries in as little as two hours

Ocado has laid out its vision for the future – robots that pick and pack groceries.

The online grocer said shoppers will be able to pick from a supermarket range, at supermarket prices and have groceries delivered in as little as two hours.

Boss Tim Steiner took a swipe at rivals saying staff picking and delivering groceries is ‘terribly inefficient’ and will remain ‘a small part’ of the sector.

Robo-shoppers: Ocado said shoppers will be able to pick from a supermarket range, at supermarket prices and have groceries delivered in as little as two hours

He said: ‘There is a small manual warehouse with a very limited range and it’s initially subsidised by venture capital.

‘But to be sustainable, it needs to charge something like a 30 per cent premium on a supermarket.’

By contrast his robots let shoppers pick from 50,000 products and pay similar prices to a supermarket. 

Ocado mainly offers grocery delivery in slots booked at least a day in advance.

But the robots, which glide across the grids of its warehouses picking up items, will cut costs and the time it takes to ready orders.

Ocado was founded in 2000 and has seven UK warehouses. Its shares rose 5.7 per cent, or 81p, to 1508.5p.