Ocado has created a new head of retail role to help it compete in the growing internet shopping market.

Jon Rudoe has been

promoted from his post as head of trading and marketing, extending his responsibilities to cover logistics and supplier relationships.

Rudoe's contribution will be key if Ocado is to succeed in its battle against other online grocery delivery sites such as those run by Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Rudoe, who was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard Business School, said the world of internet retail would change "beyond recognition" in the next few years.

It was possible Ocado could one day offer a

same-day delivery service, he said.

"We are always looking at ways to improve customer service," he said. "We were the first to send text messages to people about their deliveries and we were the first to offer ordering via mobile phones. It definitely is something that is possible.

"There are a lot more things to do to make the customer proposition bigger and better."

Ocado is expanding quickly and is currently developing a distribution centre in Yorkshire to help it better serve the north of England, which until now has had patchy coverage of Ocado deliveries.

Earlier this year, when Ocado vowed to match prices on Tesco.com for branded items, Tesco complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, which is yet to rule on whether Ocado's adverts were misleading.

In response, Ocado insisted its pricing policy was genuine and permanent, and in retaliation threatened to file a counter complaint with the ASA accusing Tesco of having a misleading price comparison tool on its website because it compared Tesco own-label with Waitrose own-label products.

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