Online greeting card retailer Moonpig has said it expects full-year revenue to almost double, helped by robust demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The firm reported its “strongest ever trading week” in its history as customers stuck in coronavirus lockdown headed to its site in the run up to Valentine’s Day.

With all non-essential shops closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions, average order values had also risen as “customers attached gifts to their orders”, the company said in an update.

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With “significant increased demand” continuing, the company said it expects revenue for the year ending 30 April, to almost double from £173m it posted for the previous 12-month period.

It comes weeks after Moonpig floated on the London Stock Exchange in a £1.2bn listing.

The company said in a trading update: “The significant increase in demand seen in the first half of the year continued through the third quarter, and last week we saw the strongest ever trading week in the group’s history ahead of Valentine’s Day.

“Purchase frequency remains unusually elevated due to COVID-19 related restrictions, and we are now also seeing a temporary increase in average order values, as more customers attach gifts to their orders.”

It told shareholders it had also increased its marketing efforts in recent months in order to pick up more customers and invested significantly in order to meet the higher levels of orders.

It said: “On top of higher marketing spend, we have incurred incremental costs and capital expenditure due to higher temporary staffing levels throughout our supply chain, and also by the partial shifting of our production mix to the UK following the Guernsey lockdown.”

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However, Moonpig said its guidance for the next full-year was “broadly unchanged”, with the lifting of coronavirus curbs set to impact its performance.

The company said: “The higher levels of customer purchase frequency and elevated gift attach rates are both expected to moderate as lockdown restrictions ease.”

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