Air fryer and slipper sales surge as UK strives to reduce energy use

Consumers move quickly to prepare for unaffordable energy bills despite mild autumn, finds market research

Sales of air fryers, slow cookers, microwaves and electric blankets are soaring as households faced with unaffordable energy bills look for ways to reduce their power use.

Air fryers - a small countertop convection oven that uses less electricity than a conventional cooker - are in huge demand, with the number sold in September four times higher than in the same month last year, according to the market research firm GfK. So are electric cooking pots such as pressure cookers, rice cookers, slow cookers or multifunctional pots that can do all three things, with sales up 80%.