Sex Toy Sales More Than Doubled During Lockdown

Sales of sex toys have reportedly more than doubled over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, with many people using their days indoors to enjoy a bit of ‘me time’.

Interestingly, customers have also been picking kinkier options than usual, with sales of BDSM and high-tech equipment found to have boomed in 2020. Sex dolls sales have also risen in the US.

New research found that online sex toy sales in the UK more than doubled after the country first entered lockdown in April this year. The increased demand has reportedly yet to diminish, according to sales data from Ann Summers.

The sex toy and lingerie retailer reportedly sold nine times more leatherette paddles in the week beginning November 26 than it did during the same week last year, with sales of spreader bars, ball gags and nipple clamps being up by over fourfold, as Business Insider reports.

An Ann Summers spokesperson told Business Insider:

The UK has become kinkier and more adventurous, with more people than ever spicing up their sex lives by trying out BDSM products and anal sex.

‘2020 has been a difficult year for many and it appears we’ve been using our extra time to escape reality and try out new things in the bedroom,’ the spokesperson added.

It seems Ann Summers isn’t the only retailer to note this trend. UK-based retail marketplace Love The Sales also found that sales of bondage sets had risen by 97% from 2019 to 2020, with basque sets having risen by 101%.

Co-founder of LovetheSales.com, Stuart McClure, said:

Couples isolating together have more time in each others company than they usually would with a 9-5 job.

Partners are spending this time to reconnect and try new things. Lockdown is a perfect time to explore your likes and dislikes and we are certainly seeing this with the increasing demand for bedroom toys.

The Fifty Shades franchise certainly helped this by bringing these type of toys into the mainstream, removing out-dated stigmas behind buying toys for your partner in the bedroom.

As reported by Business Insider, the escalated interest in sexual experimentation over lockdown is reflected in 2020 Google searches, with UK searches for ‘what is pegging in sex?’ seeing a 250% increase. Searches for ‘what is BDSM?’ have reportedly risen by 70%.

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