Demonstrating the significance that the cost of living crisis is having on shopping habits right now, an air fryer brand is dominating searches on PriceSpy, the impartial price and product comparison service.
Air fryers have skyrocketed in popularity so much that Ninja has overtaken Apple as the most popular brand on PriceSpy in the run up to Christmas – based on online behaviour of millions of consumers in the UK.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Ninja | Apple | Samsung |
| Apple | Samsung | Apple |
| Nike | Sony | Nike |
| Samsung | Nike | Sony |
| Sony | LEGO | LG |
Table: Most popular brands on PriceSpy between Sept – Nov 2022, 2021, 2020
Air fryers dominate Christmas shopping
The top three most popular products on Black Friday this year were all air fryers, with the popularity of the cult product showing no signs of slowing. This is in sharp contrast to recent years where shoppers have been searching for expensive consumer electronics.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF400 9.5L | Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Over-ear Headset | Apple AirPods (2nd Generation) Wireless In-ear |
| Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Airfryer AF300 7.6L | Nintendo Switch 2019 32GB | Nintendo Switch 2017 32GB |
| Tower T17088 9L | Apple AirPods Pro Wireless In-ear (2019) | LG OLED55CX 55″ 4K Ultra HD (3840×2160) OLED Smart TV |
Table: Most popular products on PriceSpy on Black Friday 2022, 2021, 2020
Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, UK country manager at PriceSpy, commented: “Toppling the big tech brands when it comes to popularity is no mean feat, especially at Christmas. Ninja appearing so prominently at the top of the list is a direct sign of just how much the cost of living crisis is impacting people’s day-to-day habits. Never before have we seen the craze around one specific product take off in such a way.”
“Black Friday is always a good indicator of the Christmas shopping period as a whole. So, it’s a safe prediction that air fryers will be under many people’s Christmas trees this year!”
Cost-conscious shopping habits
Purchase intent for air fryers and fryers on PriceSpy was up by a staggering 4,477% between September – November. Other ways that the cost-of-living crisis is impacting people’s shopping habits include:
- The popularity of sex toys is up 56% year-on-year as people prioritise staying in over going out;
- Smart home sensors and sirens have increased in popularity by 61%, with people wanting greater control over their heating and energy usage and home security;
- Multicookers – another kitchen-related craze – and slow cookers have increased in popularity by 771% and 290% respectively, as people look for different ways of cooking affordably.
Matinvesi-Bassett said: “While financial-mindedness may be behind these new product trends, we expect many shopping habits – and product preferences – to remain once the cost of living situation eases.”
PriceSpy has over 700,000 indexed products from over 6,000 shops. PriceSpy is part of Schibsted and is operational in: the UK, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand.The PriceSpy app is available to download for free via the App Store and Google Play.
