Sex toy sales skyrocket in Victoria due to quarantine

Once again, an adult retailer is reporting a spike in sales in states under lockdown.

Adulttoymegastore owner Nicola Relph says Victoria has lead Australia for sex toy sales in the last three weeks. “Once again, we’re seeing a surge in lubricant, vibrators and batteries. This seems to have coincided with our customers in Victoria staying home due to Covid-19.”

“Our customers have told us they’re avoiding crowds and they want something to do while they’re stuck at home. They’re also not on Tinder or going on dates because they’re worried about COVID-19.”

Sales have increased week on week in Victoria since Covid-19 cases began to increase in late June.

“This week has been our biggest week on record for Melbourne. It has overtaken the unprecedented amount of sales we had in April.”

“We’re hearing from our customers that they’re stockpiling batteries and lubrication in case they’re stuck inside due to self-isolation,” Relph says. “Our customers have told us they’re avoiding crowds and they want something to do while they’re stuck at home. They’re also not on Tinder or going on dates because they’re worried about COVID-19.”

This follows trends around the world. In the 48 hours before New Zealand went on national lockdown on March 25, sex toy sales tripled at Adultoymegastore. In April, Australia had a major spike in adult toy sales centred around New South Wales. At the time Adulttoymegastore Relph said the number of sales in Australia is unprecedented.

“We have never seen anything like this,” she said.

“We opened in 2009 and nothing has come close to the sales we’ve had in Australia in the past three weeks. Australians are well and truly choosing to enjoy their lockdown with essential items like vibrators and lubricant.” “It shows they’re staying home and they’re staying apart from their partners and they’re trying new things. We’ve seen beginner toys skyrocket in sales but also high-tech toys are selling really well too.”

Sales in Victoria have now overtaken the April adult toy sales. * Record sales of adult toys in New Zealand and Australia shouldn’t be a surprise. A trans-Tasman sex survey to be released soon found Aussies and New Zealanders masturbate a lot.

Adulttoymegastore commissioned a survey of New Zealanders and Australians and asked them a wide range of questions about sex, sexuality and masturbation. The results are in, thanks to UMR, and the truth is – both nations love a bit of rub and tug.

Almost one in ten Australian men masturbate once a day or more often (9%), compared with 6% of New Zealand men, and only 1% of Australian and New Zealand women.

One in five New Zealanders and Australians masturbate a few times a week (21% of New Zealanders, 20% of Australians). They are more likely to be men (31% New Zealand men and 29% of Australian men), than women (12% of New Zealand and Australian women).

One in ten Australians and New Zealanders masturbate once a week (11% of New Zealanders, and 10% of Australians).

15% of New Zealanders and 17% of Australians masturbate a few times a month. The most frequent masturbators, clocking in at once a day at least are Gen Y men (at 13%). Almost half (43%) of the women from the silent generation surveyed have never masturbated. Around 23% of Females from Gen Z have never masturbated – the second highest group.

Over half of New Zealand and Australian men masturbate at least a couple times a month (65%) compared with just 38% of women from both countries. 24% of men masturbate once a month or less and 34% of women once a month or less often. Aussies more likely to have never engaged in self-love in comparison to New Zealanders.

Almost half of Australians and New Zealanders surveyed have bought from an adult toy store. (43% NZ and 40% AU). They are more likely to be female, but not by much. Australian men are the least likely to buy from an adult toy store. 41% of New Zealand men have and 38% of Australian men have made purchases.

New Zealand women are most likely to buy with 45% of those surveyed saying they have bought from an adult toy story. 42% of Australian women have. Gen Y are the most likely generation (50%: 41% men, 58% women), and Gen X (50%: 47% men, 53% women) to buy toys. Adult toy buying is less likely by boomers (32%) and the silent generation (21%).

Adulttoymegastore (www.adulttoymegastore.com.au) commissioned UMR (https://umr.co.nz/) to carry out this 2020 sex survey. UMR offers clients an extensive quantitative research suite covering telephone, online, and face-to-face collection. This survey covered 2500 respondents handpicked by UMR to cover age, gender and region in Australia and New Zealand.

As it turns out studies show masturbation might help adults avoid catching COVID-19. Self-pleasure boosts your immune system and raises your white blood cell count. According to Dr. Jennifer Landa (https://www.health24.com/Sex/Great-sex/incredible-health-benefits-to-masturbating-20181030-2) masturbation can be just what you need to strengthen your immune system.

Her views are backed up by a Department of Medical Psychology at the University Clinic of Essen (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15316239/) which looked at the effects of orgasm through masturbation on the white blood cell count.

A group of 11 volunteers were asked to participate in a study and the results confirmed that sexual arousal and orgasm increased the number of white blood cells. White Blood cells help fight off infections.

“It has been known for a long time that orgasms help you relax your body and calm your mind meaning a better sleep which in turn means more time for your body to rest,” Relph says.

“Rest is crucial in maintaining a high-functioning immune system. And when you climax your body gets that rush of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin – all of those feel good hormones”.

This rush re-balances your levels of cortisol also known as the stress hormone, which in turn helps boost your immune system to get it functioning well.

“We care about the safety of our clients so we’re pleased they’re doing everything they can to look after their immune systems!”