(2 February 2018) The severe water shortage in Western Cape has spurred a rise in demand for water related items on South African marketplace Bob Shop.

Terms containing the key word “water” are now among top searches, which is a first for the marketplace.

“Our visitors are mainly searching for water tanks, water containers and water storage solutions in general”, says Bob Shop Category Manager David Berry.

Water pumps, filters and purifiers are also among popular water-related searches, as are the terms “water from air” and “water maker”.  As David Berry explains, the last two terms refer to water generation technologies for residential homes.

“Providing there is the right mixture of humidity, temperature and altitude, atmospheric water generators, also known as water-from-air and water makers, can produce potable water by the means of the natural process of condensation through dehumidification”, explains Berry.

Even though atmospheric water generators do not come cheap, 14 of them were sold in one single week at the end of January. All were bought by Capetonians. Depending on the generator’s capacity, these buyers were ready to pay between about R14,000 and R25,000 for some water security.

Various water saving devices also feature prominently in the searches performed by Bob Shop visitors, from tap locks and tap and shower head aerators to liquid pool covers and save-a-flush polymers. There is also a lot of interest in water-free or reduced water alternatives to existing solutions, such as waterless car wash and hand sanitizers.

“In response to the increased interest, we have created on Bob Shop a special online sale devoted exclusively to water saving items”, says Berry.  

The Bob Shop water saving sale is now open and currently features over 150 products