(Yicai) Sept. 5 -- Sales of ice cream and cold drinks in China have tumbled this summer as difficult economic times and inclement weather dampen people’s appetites for non-essential items.

Ice cream sales this year are worse than in previous years, said distributor Zhao Jun. July was the best month, but August was not as good as last year. Most convenience stores and supermarkets have seen their ice cream sales drop by more than 20 percent this year, he added.

“Our ice cream sales volume is around two thirds that of last year, and turnover is less,” a source from ice cream distributor Shanghai Xingbaoyin Foods said.

“We sold more ice cream this year due to our good location, but revenue is less as people are now opting for cheap ice creams costing between CNY1 (USD0.14) and CNY3 each,” the owner of a cold drink shop in Beijing told Yicai.

“Last year, we were selling ice creams priced at between CNY10 (USD1.41) and CNY20 each, but this year the most expensive ones on sale cost CNY6,” he said.

Ice creams are a type of fast-moving consumer goods, such as Coke, which are cheap and there should not be a high premium, said Zhang Shule, an Internet industry analyst. Consumers are rejecting expensive ice creams and the industry is returning to the previous price range, he added.

Sellers of refrigerated beverages have had a similar experience. There was weak demand for cold drinks in the first half, which was not helped by heavy rains, dairy giant Yili Group’s management team said at the earnings call.

Online sales of cold drinks in China plunged 13.3 percent in the first seven months from a year ago, but turnover jumped 5.3 percent, according to the latest data from US market research firm NielsenIQ. In July, normally a peak month, online sales of cold drinks plunged 24.2 percent year on year and the sales amount plummeted 32.2 percent.

The biggest factor behind the downturn in the cold beverage sector is a change in consumer attitudes, a person in charge of a cold drink company said. Consumers are more cautious than before and they tend to choose more affordable drinks, rather than going after the latest fad. They have started to pay more attention to the quality and cost-effectiveness of the beverage, rather than falling for marketing ploys.

Cold drinks are not an everyday essential, so many people have cut spending on cold beverages, the person said. A large number of brands entered the cold drink market in recent years when business was booming. However, these firms have failed to boost sales even though they have cut prices and carried out promotions.

Cold drinks priced between CNY1 and CNY5 are best sellers, Yicai learned from interviews. The emergence of new retail channels such as discount snack shops, wholesale stores, membership outlets, and neighborhood e-merchants have lowered prices, which has spurred the recovery of the cold drink market.

Editor: Kim Taylor