Amid concerns over the supply of liquified petroleum gas due to the military conflict in the Middle East, scores of online shoppers are booking induction stoves. This has led to the product turning "unavailable" on leading e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms.
The supply shortage commenced after the flow of ships from the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted due to the war between Iran and the US and Israel.
Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart users noted that when they attempted to buy induction cooktops, the products were flagged as "sold out", "out of stock" or "coming soon".
Induction cookers were listed as 'sold out' on Swiggy Instamart.
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It is likely that there was a mass buying of these products leading to the shortage. This is likely due to fact that they are powered by electricity rather than LPG cylinders, making them a viable alternative to the commodity currently facing a scarcity.
The phenomenon was also noted in other online marketplaces such as Flipkart and Amazon.
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"Over the last two days, sales of induction cooktops have increased over 30X, while rice cookers and electric pressure cookers are seeing a 4X increase. Air fryers and multi-use kessles are also seeing a 2X increase in sales over a regular day. Customers are using Amazon Now to get similar products within minutes in parts of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru,” said Amazon India spokesperson.
Flipkart too said that they have seen unprecedented surge in induction sales driven by a combination of soaring costs and physical supply shortages of LPG.
"Sales volume has quadrupled over the last 4-5 days as compared to the preceding 3-4 weeks, with some localised high-demand areas like Delhi, Kolkata, and UP having even higher spikes as consumers hedge against future price volatility."
The E-commerce giant stated that they are also seeing a massive surge in other categories like electric cookers, kettles, and air fryers.
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India imports more than 60% of its LPG demand and a significant portion of LNG, from overseas with the Gulf region acting as a major source for the commodity. The shortage of LPG is severly impacting households, restaurants and hotels, reports noted.
The domestic LPG (14.2 kg cylinder) prices have also registered a steep increase in Indian cities. The rates, in Tier-1 metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, have climbed to Rs 913 and Rs 912.50, respectively. The prices have risen to Rs 939 in Kolkata, Rs 928.5 in Chennai and Rs 915.5 in Bengaluru.
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