The number of captured promotions at Asda almost halved in 2010, although it was still by far the heaviest supermarket promoter, with 424 captured deals versus Sainsbury's 320.

Waitrose and Tesco ran the fewest promotions although notably were also the two retailers who gained the largest market share of ice cream sales in 2010. Wall's and Nestlé dominated supplier promotions, accounting for more than 50% of total ice cream deals.

Although fiercely criticised by rival suppliers for its reliance on promotions, Ben & Jerry's ran fewer deals in 2010 than during the previous year.

However, the average cost saving on a Ben & Jerry's promotion was £2.81, 70p more than super-premium rival Häagen-Dazs, which upped its number of deals by almost 30%.

In fact, the average cost saving for the five heaviest promoting brands was higher in each case than in 2009; a sign that brand owners are putting greater emphasis on depth rather than frequency of promotion.

Focus On Ice Cream