While people around the world were busy hoarding toilet paper and pasta, New Zealanders were stocking up on sex toys with such frenzy that sales tripled since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a month-long lockdown.
“We’re selling a lot of beginner toys… all our beginner ranges are very popular. It definitely looks like people are saying: I’ve got time, I might try something new,” said Emily Writes, a spokesperson for Adult Toy Megastore, a New Zealand-based company.
The New Zealand government has allowed the company to keep its operations running during the lockdown, deeming it an essential service, as it also sells condoms and other items related to sexual health. Lubricants, adult board games, menstrual cups, and sex toy cleaners were also among purchases that spiked after the lockdown was announced.
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However, it appears that this upsurge is not unique to New Zealand. Adult toy brand Womanizer noted that in Canada and the US, sex toy purchases have soared above their forecasted sales for the quarter by 135 percent and 75 percent respectively, Daily Mail reported. The company’s top seller at the moment is a clitoral masturbation toy. Italy, France, Hong Kong, and Australia have also reported similar surges in the sale of sex toys.
With social-distancing measures in place indefinitely, the spike in sex toy sales, and sharp surges in porn views around the world, tell us something about how people plan to make the most of their time at home. It helps that feminist porn websites like Bellesa, Ms. Naughty and Sounds of Pleasure, among others, have always provided their content for free.
