The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live our lives. We can’t go to our favorite restaurant, the nightclubs, dances, the beach, sporting events, visit friends or family plus a lot more. Our daily lives are on hold, not to mention the loss of thousands of jobs everywhere. Social distancing and lock downs are commonplace in just about every corner of the country in an attempt to slow down this virus and eventually get our lives back to normal. But what about having and enjoying sex? It is a natural part of life and often a great stress reliever, and God knows we are all going through a stressful time right now.
For married couples having sex now depends on several things. What kind of job do either have, are you both 100% healthy, are you practicing social distancing? This would apply to couples of any age group at a time when any kind of physical contact could be deemed risky. If you want to see a set of guidelines for sex check out what the New York City Department of Health released. It is very blunt, upfront and doesn’t mince words when it comes to various sexual acts. It is probably the best overall guideline I have seen. I give the NYCDOH props for putting it out in blunt language. You can find it at: https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/new-york-city-warns-against-rimming-to-prevent-coronav
According to guidelines and experts in these uncertain times, “you are your safest sex partner”. That led me to see, with the shutdown of almost the entire adult industry, if there has been a big spike in the sales of adult toys and pleasure products for men, women and couples? Has this pandemic brought some people in contact with a sex toy, something they might not have considered before all this, as a way to get pleasure?
From Katy Zvolerin at Adam and Eve……Adam & Eve has seen sales spikes of over 30% (over last year) each day for the last week. We definitely think individuals and couples are self-soothing and looking for some de-stressers during these uncertain times. Toys are tending to focus on female vibrators as well as lubricants and (no surprise) toy cleaners. We’ve also seen a jump in couples’ toys – couples rings are very popular during these times of forced togetherness. Additionally, anal toys are quite popular – maybe all this time together ramps up some experimentation, or the stresses outside create a “why not?” approach? Here is one link for Adam & Eve…. https://www.adameve.com/adult-sex-toys/vibrators/clit-vibrators/sp-satisfyer-pro-next-generation 104151.aspx?st=search%20autocomplete%3Eproduct%3ESatisfyer%20Pro%202%20-%20Next%20Generation plus other best sellers currently.
This is from sex toy brand “Womanizer”. They found that its sales figures for the period between January 1 and March 6 were 50 per cent higher than predicted.
Johanna Rief, head of sexual empowerment at Womanizer, said: “Of course, we didn’t anticipate a surge in sales of Womanizer sex toys due to coronavirus like we have seen. We do know… that time is an essential factor when it comes to sexuality and self-pleasure. With the prospect of long-periods at home either alone or with your partner, people are exploring new ways to make the best of the time available.” You can check out Womanizer at: https://www.womanizer.com/us/womanizer-products
From Suki Dunham, Founder of OhMiBod…..OhMiBod a pleasure products company known as an innovator and leader in the sex tech space. Our best selling products are App connected bluetooth toys that can be controlled remotely from anywhere…whether you are in your bedroom or across the world. The perfect solution for lovers separated by physical distancing. These toys are more powerful than ever before allowing people to stay intimate while being physically apart.
Since the pandemic has swept across the country, we have definitely seen an uptick in web sales of all of our products. Our web sales are up about 25%. As a small business, we have a great sense of gratitude for the customers shopping with us. We hope that our products provide them with some stress relief, immunity boosts and some good old fashioned fun during these uncertain. You check them out at: times. https://www.lovelifetoys.com/blueMotion-NEX1-2nd-generation and https://www.lovelifetoys.com/Esca-2
Most all adult stores around the country are closed as they do not fall under the “essential business” tag. However the chain of Romantix adult stores located in Des Moines, Iowa and other cities in the state, as of three days ago, have remained open but with reduced hours. Some other adult store elsewhere are strictly doing online business and shipping during the closures. One such place is Treasures for Lovers in Hattiesburg, MS at https://treasuresforlovers.com Ken and Linda Koch (no relation) are a super couple, so please check them out. On the local level here in Tampa Bay, I tried getting in touch with the Todd Couples Superstore www.ToddCouples.com as well as Cirilla’s www.Cirillas.com and others, but with no success as all local Tampa Bay area video stores are closed. This includes XTC, Planet X, Cupid’s Boutique, Love Toys, Pure Pleasure and Tres Equis who are all regular advertisers with NightMoves. Some do have online sales available, so be sure to check them out in the current April digital issue of NightMoves www.nightmovesonline.com we thank you.
The bottom line is that sex does not have to stop, whether you are single or a couple. It just has to take a new direction and a few detours for the time being. There is an old saying that “out of the bad comes something good.” So who knows, you may find some of these new additions and forms of sexual pleasure to be a lot of fun, exciting and something to add to your repertoire once things get back to normal. Judging from the reports I received in this article, it looks like a lot of people are trying a lot of new ways to keep the sexual drive and pleasure alive and well during these tough times. Please feel free to share this feature. Enjoy!
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
Here are some links from which a lot of the information was gathered.
https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a31701454/facetime-sex-social-distancing-coronavirus-covid-19/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SexToys/comments/fhmtdv/covid19_and_sex_toy_sales/
