Ocado has best ever Christmas

LONDON (Reuters) - Upmarket online grocery retailer Ocado announced its best ever Christmas trading figures on Tuesday, adding to signs that Britons were prepared to treat themselves over the holiday season despite an economic downturn.

Ocado, which is 29 percent owned by the pension fund of employee-owned retailer John Lewis, said sales rose 25 percent in the four weeks to January 3 compared to the same time the year before, including a 97 percent jump for Christmas week.

Sales topped 2 million pounds on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Christmas, Ocado, which is in its eighth year of trading, said in a statement.

The data add to signs that Britons did not scrimp on food over Christmas, in spite of growing economic gloom.

John Lewis's upmarket grocery arm, Waitrose, said on Monday its like-for-like food sales rose 3.1 percent in the 12 days over Christmas and New Year.

Both Ocado and Waitrose, however, have focussed on cutting prices and stepping up promotions to attract cash-strapped shoppers.

(Reporting by Mark Potter; editing by James Davey and Simon Jessop)