Sex toy sales tripled in New Zealand before the country implemented a month-long shutdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak. — Picjumbo.com pic

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — It was not just toilet rolls and daily essentials that New Zealanders were stocking up on during the Covid-19 outbreak.

It seems they also rushed to stash some sex toys to keep themselves entertained at home after the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced a month-long lockdown, which came into effect on March 25.

According to the country’s largest sex toys retailer, the industry recorded an incredible threefold surge in sales in mere 48 hours after the lockdown announcement.

A representative of New Zealand-based Adult Toy Megastore told The Guardian that the prospect of a boring month indoors seemed to have prompted the public to stash adult products that they might have not have tried in the past.

"We’re selling a lot of beginner toys, all our beginner ranges are very popular,” said Emily Writes, a spokesperson for the retailer. 

"It definitely looks like people are saying: ‘I’ve got time, I might try something new.’”

The adult toy retailer also revealed that they had experienced a number of significant sales boosts in recent weeks, all coinciding with major news announcements about the pandemic in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

It claimed purchases tripled in all three countries on the day the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 disease a pandemic on March 11.

"Looking at what people were buying at that point it was all sex toys.

"It was like they were thinking, ‘we can’t go to bars, we can’t pick up, we can’t go on dates’,” said Writes.

It was also reported that sales of condoms, lubricant, menstrual cups and adult board games were among the purchases that spiked after the lockdown announcement.

Adult Toy Megastore was deemed an essential service by New Zealand’s government and was allowed to continue its operation during the shutdown as it also sells condoms and medical items. 

 

 

 

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