Brits stock up on air fryers and electric blankets amid energy crisis

Consumers in the UK are buying energy-saving fryers, electric blankets and slow cookers this winter as their energy bills soar.

Sales of air fryers rose 286% in September from the same month a year ago, according to market research firm GfK.

The portable appliance typically consumes less energy than a conventional oven because air fryers are smaller and heat up faster.

“The huge increase in sales of these items shows how seriously energy prices are already taking a toll on people,” Helen Morrissey, senior pension and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said. CNN Business . “People are monitoring their energy usage on a minute level.”

Sales of crockpots, which include pressure cookers and slow cookers, also rose 79% in the year through September.

The average slow cooker costs 11 pound cents ($0.13) to run for an hour, while the typical electric oven costs 21 pound cents ($0.24), according to data from the price comparison website. Uswitch.com, which estimates the energy costs of consumer products.

Asda, one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains, said sales of its deep fryers rose 320% in September from the same month in 2021, while sales of its electric cookers more than doubled over the same period.

Brits are also gearing up to prepare for the colder weather by stocking up on electric blankets. Sales of the item rose 216% year-over-year in September, according to GfK.

“It’s clear that people are willing to do whatever it takes to avoid putting heating – gas – on for as long as possible to ease the enormous pressure on their finances,” Morrissey said.

Millions of Britons are struggling to make ends meet as their food and fuel bills soar this year. Last month, consumer price inflation returned to the July level of 10.1%, its highest rate in 40 years.

And the average annual household energy bill is up 96% from last October, reaching 2,500 pounds ($2,889) this month.

In September, the government stepped in to cap gas and electricity bills at that level for the next two years.

But earlier this month, the country’s new finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, said the cap would only last until April, with only the most vulnerable families receiving more support.

Asda data, compiled by the Center for Economics and Business Research, said households were 141 pounds ($163) worse off in September compared with a year earlier.

Increases in gas and electricity bills, 96% and 54% respectively, were the main factors behind the drop in disposable income, the retailer said.