Behind the scenes

Facing the energy shortage with solar panels and power stations

12/9/2022

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Electricity and gas could be in short supply this winter. As a result, part of the population is already gearing up for the critical scenario of power stations, generators and heaters being hard to come by. Solar panels and firewood are also experiencing a sales boom; the likes of which Galaxus has never seen in August before.

While some politicians are hoarding candles for potential power outages, others have already spent thousands of euros on power generators (e.g. Marcel Dettling). Politicians in Berlin, Vienna and Bern too are preparing themselves for a potential energy shortage – each in their own way.

Who’s going over the top? Who isn’t grasping the seriousness of the situation? We’re an online shop, not energy experts or politicians, so we’ll refrain from making any forecasts or hypotheses. Instead, we’ll stick to what we can do: analysing our sales figures and sharing them with our Community.

Back at the end of July, we reported on galaxus.de and galaxus.at that sales of power generators, power stations and heaters had exploded. We’re now able to reveal the sales figures for August. The percentage growth in the sale of «energy products», displayed in the chart below, has hit triple and quadruple digit levels. Power stations are the front runners, with sales 20 times higher than in August 2021.

It’s also striking how much the solar energy sector has grown. In March, shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine, we recorded our first sales peak. The threat of an energy shortage drove up sales even higher in July and August. In August, Galaxus in Germany, Austria and Switzerland sold more than 11 times as many solar panels and more than 8 times as much solar energy equipment compared to the same month last year.

Germany in particular has seen a rise in the sales of power stations and heaters. As at now, six times more power stations and heaters have been sold in 2022 so far than in the whole of 2021. Power stations are proving to be particularly popular in Bavaria. It’s where a whole 20 per cent of sales were recorded. North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg have also been fervent buyers. However, even though the former has the most inhabitants by far, significantly more power stations were shipped to customers in Bavaria.

This article isn’t a sales pitch. Our customers can make up their own minds about whether to buy solar panels for the balcony, a generator for emergencies, or nothing at all. Our products, your life.

Press contact Germany/Austria

Galaxus Deutschland
Daniel Borchers
Schützenstraße 5, 22761 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 334 614 772
E-mail: daniel.borchers@galaxus.de

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Stephan Kurmann

Senior Communications Manager

Stephan.Kurmann@digitecgalaxus.ch

Studies claim that we have a shorter attention span than goldfish. Ouch! My job is to get your attention as often and for as long as possible. How? With content you enjoy. Outside of the office, you’ll find me on the tennis court, curled up with a book, Netflixing or travelling.

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