Ice Cream Sales Way Up, Deodorant Sales Way Down

The COVID- 19 pandemic has brought with it some strange tidal waves of spending. Certain products have soared in value (I'm looking at you toilet paper), while others have been hit hard by the economic impact of the novel coronavirus. One item that is seeing record sales these days is Ice Cream.

Since we're all social distancing these days, we're spending a lot more time at home. And we're eating an enormous amount of 'comfort food'. What's on the top of that list? Ice Cream. Ice Cream sales are up 26 percent between April and June. So, don't feel bad if you made that Ben and Jerry's impulse purchase at the grocery store last week. Millions of other Americans are doing the same exact thing!

Since more Ice Cream is made in July than any other month, it's a safe bet that sales will be up throughout the rest of the summer too. In fact, the United States is already on track to make more ice cream this year, than in any year in recent memory. On average, around 1.4 billion gallons of ice cream and assorted frozen desserts are produced in the U.S. every year. This year, the numbers are looking like they will be even larger.

But, while ice cream sales are way up, deodorant sales are way down in the four months since COVID- 19 entered our lives. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. We're all home a lot more these days, and we're not around other people nearly as much as we were beforehand, so naturally, we're not using as much deodorant. Sales have been in the decline for months for some of the big-name deodorant brands, and that doesn't look to be changing any time in the near future.

The good news? Most deodorant makers should be just fine when things get back to "normal",  as their sales are expected to surge when the majority of folks head back to work on a permanent basis.