Air conditioning and swimming pools are flying over the counter due to expected heat wave | NOW

It looks like it will be very warm in the Netherlands in the coming week. That is why people who are not (yet) on holiday are looking for refreshment en masse. A tour of NU.nl along various retail chains tells us that swimming pools, fans and sunscreen are flying out of the store.

At Kruidvat and Blokker they are completely ready. There are plenty of swimming pools, water pistols and inflatable rings in the store. Although sales of these items are starting to take off more slowly than previous years, they were in high demand this week.

“That probably has to do with the weather forecast,” a spokesperson for Kruidvat said. “Now the stay at home knows where to find us. The weeks before that were sold less, because people are going away on holiday again this year.”

Holidays are preferred over air conditioning in the house

The trade association in the field of Refrigeration and Air Treatment (NVKL) sees a similar development. “If the heat really persists in the near future, even more people will want to install an air conditioner,” according to the NVKL. “But people are now more likely to spend their money on vacations than on air conditioners.”

Due to supply problems and a major shortage of people in the sector, it is not easy to keep up with the demand for air conditioning this year. The worldwide shortage of chips plays a role in this, but also the fact that technicians are often busy installing heat pumps, for example.

Enough cooling can be found in the stores

Fortunately, the other stores let you know that they have enough fans, air coolers and mobile air conditioners in stock. Both bol.com and HEMA have announced that they now sell about twice as many air conditioners and fans than last week. Still, both say they have enough items in stock. So it doesn’t look like stay-at-home and home workers will melt away next week.

The sunscreen also works well. At Kruidvat, an increase of 40 percent this week compared to previous weeks. This is not only due to the beautiful weather in the Netherlands, but also to the fact that many people are going on holiday again.

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