In a long-awaited trading update, the pureplay electricals retailer said despite a decline in overall electrical sales in the wider market AO.com had “grown market share and seen increased demand and sales across all categories” since lockdown measures came into force.

Lockdown restrictions in its two main markets of the UK and Germany meant “shopping online has become an unavoidable way of life” and customers were “relying on electrical and electronic products like never before”.

AO said it had adapted the services it offers, invested in depots and warehouses to ensure staff can practise social distancing and equipped “everyone who can work from home with what they need to do so”.