A slump in condom sales suggests Brits are shying away from sex during the lockdown.
Laxman Narasimhan, the chief of Durex’s parent company Reckitt Benckiser, has said that condom sales in most markets across the world, including the United Kingdom (UK), have slumped since the pandemic began.
The firm has blamed the poor sales performance on the effect ‘stay at home’ policies are having on potential customers.
“Intimate occasions are going down and that is a manifestation of anxiety,” Mr Narasimhan told the BBC.
“What you see is this virus is having a toll on the number of intimate occasions in the UK.”
The lockdown has presented people the world over with a whole new series of relationship challenges.
For many freshly coupled up in the UK, they had just one day to decide whether to threw their lots in together when the ‘stay at home’ order was called on March 23.
As enjoyable as the first throws of love may be when you’re seeing someone every other Friday, five weeks of non-stop companionship could put a different complexion on a romantic venture.
The apparent decline in intimacy between couples does not appear to have spread to individuals however.
The sex toy industry has reported big sales increases since the pandemic took hold.
As of the beginning of April Lelo, a Swedish luxury sex toy brand, had seen a 40% uptick in terms of items flying off the shelves.
Lingerie and sex product retailer Ann Summers had seen a 27% increase.
UK Meds, an online pharmacy based in Nottingham, reported a 23% rise in orders of Viagra – a sales increase which confuses Mr Narasimhan’s notion of decreasing intamacy.
While not always the most accurate indicator of future events, bookmakers have suggested there will be a 2021 baby boom as isolation leads more couples to concieve.
The theory is based on a sharp rise in birth rates after periods of national crisis, such as WWII.
