When you consider the wave of crap we’ve been handed since 2020, and Covid-19, dawned on us, it’s no real surprise to hear that folks are looking for a way to feel good (really good). So good, in fact, that sex stores are currently making bank.
If you cast your minds back a few weeks, you’ll recall that sex and Covid-19 was making headlines because the New York Government released a public statement on the topic. They advised that everyone should be prioritising sex with themselves for optimum safety. You can’t contract the c-word through contact with yourself, after all.
Now, weeks on, it seems that people are doing their due diligence because sales at sex stores have sky-rocketed.
And honestly, good on everyone. You’re keeping one another safe. Making sacrifices! Looking out for the wellbeing of your fellow person (and yourself, in the process).
GOAT spoke with Lauren Clair, founder of Melbourne health and pleasure store, Nikki Darling, about her experience of running a sex store during Covid-19.
Clair told us that the journey for her business has been an interesting one:
“In early March, when things were just starting to feel a little weird and uncertain in Australia, Nikki Darling had a bit of a lull in sales. Then, as we moved into our lockdown restrictions and people began to have some more clarity and certainty on their working from home arrangements and other lockdown changes, that’s when the sales spike began,” she shared.
She explained that sales indicate folks are using the extra time to get to know their bodies a little better, as well as experiment with partners.
Interestingly, however, she pointed out that in addition to an increase in sales, she’s noticed a more diverse selection of products flying off shelves.
“I’ve also been selling a wider range of toys,” she told GOAT.
“People are really experimenting with the new! And my personal favourite is the uptick in lube sales. I’m not sure what is accounting for that, but lube is a great sex enhancer so I’m thrilled all the same.”
Similarly, Canberra sex store owners Christine and Stephen Hawke told The Canberra Times that the days before Covid-19’s isolation restrictions began were their busiest period to date:
“People were coming in and just grabbing toys left, right and centre,” Hawke told the outlet.
According to VICE, at least five major sex toy production companies have reported a serious jump in sales since March. As an example, WOW Tech Group – which is the company behind WeVibe and Womanizer – told VICE they’d “exceeded their monthly sales projections by more than 40 per cent as of March 25”.
Long story, short: ya’ll are doing your civic duty, and we take our hats off to you. We’re in the middle of a pandemic; everyone deserves a little more fun right now.