The annual sales for retailers got boosted by 27% because consumers have been flocking to Game stores to stock up on generators and inverters as load shedding continues.
Game said for people living in flats and townhouses where noisy generators are not an option, inverters were a popular choice.
According to Neville Hatfield, vice president of merchandise for Game said, “For safety reasons, and due to noise levels attributed to the use of generators, most body corporates in South Africa do not allow the use of generators in apartment complexes meaning inverters have become a popular option, especially as more people are working from home in 2022”.
The inverters tend to be smaller, making indoor storage easy. They also run on batteries, unlike generators, which use diesel. However, Hatfield cautioned that inverters have their limits and can’t be used for appliances that come with a thermostat or heating element, like kettles, fridges and microwaves.
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On Monday, Eskom announced that it was implementing Stage 2 load shedding from 17:00, with the grid set to remain under strain for some weeks.
The inverters have proven to be so popular that Game has introduced a residential 150Wh Mega Cube Ellies inverter that runs for three hours when fully charged.