The IKEA furniture chain will exclude disposable alkaline batteries from the offer by October 2021. It wants to motivate customers to start using rechargeable for sustainability. The company stated this in a press release. Large domestic electrical retailers are not preparing for this step. According to them, there is interest in disposable batteries, in addition they have a different voltage, and rechargeable batteries do not have to fully replace them yet.
Last year, IKEA sold around 300 million alkaline batteries worldwide. “For consumers who use batteries frequently, switching from alkaline to rechargeable batteries can be beneficial. Over time, significant financial savings and environmental protection can be achieved,” says IKEA Range & Supply Manager Emelie Knoester.
The batteries at IKEA are among the best-selling products. While they did not figure in the top 10 in 2005 at all, in 2018, for example, they appeared twice.
According to its spokesperson Pavla Hobíková, customers of the Mall.cz e-shop clearly prefer disposable batteries. “Their sales dominate and are stable. We haven’t seen any changes in our customers’ shopping behavior in the last year,” she said. According to her, the Mall.cz range offers a wide selection of disposable and rechargeable batteries and also wants to leave it up to customers to choose which ones suit them better.
The Alza.cz online store monitors the growth of sales of rechargeable and disposable batteries. “The whole issue is a bit more complicated, because rechargeable batteries, for example, have different voltages than disposable ones, to which some devices are more sensitive. . According to her, manufacturers try to reflect environmental friendliness and choose, for example, ecological packaging.
The Datart chain is following a higher interest in rechargeable batteries. “Over the last three years, their sales in our sales network in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have increased by 24 percent,” said network spokeswoman Eva Kočicová. According to her, the company prefers brands that have environmentally friendly models, such as the number of charging cycles or an increased proportion of recyclable material, she added.
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