More than one fifth of Irish shoppers (23%) buy ice cream at least once a week, according to the latest Consumer Insights survey by Empathy Research.
Of 959 participants in the survey, this was mostly driven by the older age groups with a quarter of 35-44 year olds and 45+ year olds buying ice cream at least once a week, compared to only 9% of 18-24 year olds and 23% of 35-44 year olds. There was little difference between female (24%) and male (21%) participants that buy ice cream once a week, however participants with children (30%) were more likely to buy ice cream once a week than those without (15%).
When asked about their preferences for brands of ice cream, the clear favourite was Magnum (19%), followed by 99 Flake (16%) and Ben and Jerry’s (12%). Slightly less popular were Iceberger (10%), Brunch (10%), Cornetto (8%) and Twister (4%).
Magnum appears to be more popular amongst older age groups with 28% of 45+ year olds citing it as their favourite ice cream. This is significantly higher than all the other age groups; 18-24 (2%), 25-34 (10%) and 35-44 (15%). Additionally, slightly more men (21%) prefer Magnum compared to women (17%).
Ben and Jerry’s is well-liked by under 35s, with 23% of 18-24 year olds and 19% of 25-34 year olds citing it as their favourite brand, compared to 10% of 35-44 year olds and 6% of 45+ year olds. Ben and Jerry’s also proved more popular amongst Dubliners (18%) compared to all other regions; Rest of Leinster (7%), Munster (9%) and Connacht/Ulster (13%).
More men (12%) than women (9%) liked Iceberger ice creams, along with the 18-24 year olds (17%), who preferred the brand more than all other age groups; 25-34 (7%), 35-44 (9%) and 45+ (11%).
Weather is one of the major factors encouraging the purchase of ice cream. Six out of 10 people who buy ice cream said they do so when the weather is nice. Gender-wise, more men (65%) than women (56%) said they typically buy ice cream when the weather is nice. However, younger age groups are more likely to buy ice cream when they weather is nice compared to older age groups. The majority (81%) of 18-24 year olds buy ice cream when the weather is nice, which is noticeably higher than all the other age groups; 25-34 (67%), 35-44 (64%) and 45+ (50%).
Interestingly, just over a quarter (27%) of ice cream buyers said that they buy ice cream as part of their main or weekly shop, although this was driven more by women (33%) rather than men (21%) and shoppers with children (34% vs. 21% without children).
When asked if brand matters when buying ice cream from a supermarket, just over half (53%) said it doesn’t. Both men and women appear to agree equally on this, while younger age groups are more of this opinion compared to older age groups; 18-24 (58%), 25-34 (53%), 35-44 (52%) and 45+ (51%).
Click here for more information from Empathy Research.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Genna Patterson
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