The list reveals that while many consumers do want to indulge, the presence of Skinny Cow and Weight Watchers ice cream shows that they are also looking for healthier options.
Unilever and Nestlé dominate top 10 list
Ben & Jerry’s, which has been experiencing double-digit sales in both online and offline retail sales, came out on top as the most-ordered ice cream brand online.
Top 10:
- Ben & Jerry’s (Unilever)
- Haagen-Dazs (Nestlé)
- Breyer’s (Unilever)
- Klondike (Unilever)
- Friendly’s
- Skinny Cow (Nestlé)
- Edy’s (Nestlé)
- Great Value
- Turkey Hill
- Weight Watchers
Overall, brands under Unilever and Nestlé represented six of the top ten ice cream brands in terms of online sales.
Preferred online channels
Over half of consumers order their ice cream from mass grocery chain websites such as Safeway, Shoprite, Peapod, Instacart, and Meijer, according to 1010data.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of consumers get their ice cream fix from Amazon, Walmart, and Shipt, while mobile delivery companies like Grubhub, Postmates, and Eat24 are growing in popularity, accounting for 20% of online ice cream sales.
AmazonFresh, Amazon’s online same-day grocery delivery service, brought in $10m in revenue in Q1 2017 with frozen novelties and frozen desserts ranking among the top ten most purchased categories.
Mass merchant and restaurant delivery services accounted for 24% and 20% of ice cream sales respectively.
Incremental sales from ice cream
1010data also determined how much overall basket size increases when ice cream is added to a purchase during the summer months. Average basket size increased by 73% for Shipt when ice cream was purchased and most of the merchants with the largest basket size increases are grocery chains.
“Based on our findings, merchants who sell ice cream online should consider promotional opportunities for ice cream products during the summer months to drive higher overall basket sizes,” 1010data said in a statement.