Latest figures for Q3 showed the pandemic sales boost helped Amazon triple its profits amid a 37% increase in earnings with revenues of $96.15bn in the third quarter of 2020.
Fresh research from market analysts and eCommerce data provider Profitero reveals that chocolate sales are up 78% year-on-year on Amazon UK (comparing Jan 1-19 with the same period in 2020).
"With UK consumers still in lockdown, we're seeing categories like confectionery reaping the benefit of eCommerce'', said Andrew Pearl, VP Strategy and Insights at Profitero. "Our data shows that chocolate sales are up 78% YOY on Amazon as consumers buy chocolate gifts online in the run up to this year's Valentine's Day."
The top 10 branded chocolate searches on Amazon are dominated by 'the usual suspects' (Hotel Chocolat, Lindt, Ferrero) but new data shows a strong showing in searches for 'Tony's Chocolonely' (a Fairtrade chocolate manufacturer) – currently ranked sixth in all chocolate branded searches on Amazon UK.
“On a weekly basis, we've seen sales continue to ramp up throughout January as more UK consumers are thinking about Valentine's Day while in lockdown - searches for 'chocolate' are up 1,600% in the latest week versus the same week in 2020,” Profitero's research indicated.
Challenger brand Tony’s Chocolonely didn’t start appearing in Amazon Searches until September, according to Profitero, and it started ramping up sales on Amazon just before Christmas.
"With the explosion in eCommerce, brands have to fight continuously to maintain shopper visibility through their share of page one search results on Amazon. Mars, Lindt and Mondelez are the brands currently dominating both paid and organic search on Amazon and are likely to see the biggest sales gains from this year's event," said Pearl.
