The heatwave at the end of June 2026 caused an unprecedented rush on cooling equipment, leading to stock shortages and soaring prices.
France experienced a historic explosion in sales of fans and air conditioners during the heat wave that hit France at the end of June 2026. According to the research firm NielsenIQ, more than 1.9 million fans and air conditioners were sold in France in two weeks, an unprecedented figure which illustrates the scale of demand in the face of the heatwave.
Record numbers
Between June 15 and 28, 2026, precisely 1.8 million fans and 160,000 air conditioners were sold in France. The most intense week, from June 21 to 28, saw 1 million devices sold alone, marking the peak of this rush for cooling equipment.
This dynamic takes place in a context of increasing heatwave episodes. The end of June was marked by a particularly intense heat wave, while the third heat episode of the year already hit the country at the beginning of July.
Sales volumes recorded in the second half of June are up 66% for fans and 34% for air conditioners compared to the same period last year. These last two weeks of June “already account for 59% of fan sales made since the start of 2026 and 57% of air conditioner sales”. “In other words, in just a few days, more than one in two devices sold this year found a buyer,” underlines NielsenIQ.
Faced with this exceptional demand, brands were quickly faced with stock shortages and price increases. In many stores, the shelves were emptied within a few days. At Fnac Darty, the situation is tense: “We are not going to be able to satisfy everyone, because the demand for fans has been much too high in recent days compared to our stocks, which are becoming tight. We are currently selling 10,000 pieces per day.”
The phenomenon has not spared large stores. At Carrefour, “we sold up to 200,000 air conditioners in a week”, the group’s CEO Alexandre Bompard reported on Friday on Franceinfo, “when normally we sell 400,000 in a year”. Lidl also tried to meet demand by putting 200,000 air conditioners and fans on sale last week in a special operation, which quickly turned into chaos.
This explosion in sales is not an isolated phenomenon. Already during the first heat peak of the year, at the end of May, 740,000 pieces of cooling equipment were sold during the week of May 25 to 31. But the wave at the end of June surpassed all records, reflecting the growing concern of the French about the multiplication of heatwave episodes.
