Consumer goods company Reckitt has reported that condoms sales—specifically those of the brand Durex in China—have seen a considerable increase since COVID restrictions have eased off.
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Much less anxiety means much more sex
The company explains how at the beginning of the pandemic last year, people were having much less sex, largely due to anxiety and depression generated from the virus.
Since, a double-digit increase in condom sales has been observed in the first quarter of 2021 mirroring the results of last summer when restrictions were loosened following the containment of the first wave of the coronavirus.
But contraceptives aren't the only products whose sales have been impacted by COVID-19. Health products such as over-the-counter cold and flu medicine became much less popular than in previous years.
Disinfecting products more popular than ever
However, the same cannot be said about cleaning and disinfecting products like Lysol or Dettol as these saw a vast increase in sales over the course of the last 12 months. Chief executive Laxman Narasimhan said:
Demand for Lysol and Dettol continues to be strong as consumers remain vigilant to the spread of the virus and see use of our products, and improved hygiene habits, as a way of protecting their health and regaining normality in their lives.
And added:
As is to be expected, the underlying drivers of near-term demand for disinfectant products are dynamic, with countries around the world at different stages of the pandemic, and we are therefore closely tracking shifts in consumer behaviour to understand supply-and-demand trends.
Laura Hoy, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, explains how this trendy new obsession with hygiene will not last for too long. With the vaccine rolloutmaking a return to normalcy look more and more real everyday, people will eventually gather in larger numbers and frequent human contact will be inevitable. She says:
This shouldn't last long, though, as the next cold and flu season is likely to hit much harder as people should have more contact with each other.
