Since the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, online sales of erotic items in Norway have increased by as much as 65%, compared with the same period last year.
The increase in sales was greatest in Vestfold and Telemark counties, whose inhabitants spent 30 percent above the national average on sex toys, oils, and erotic clothing, according to new figures from the company Klarna, which runs 7,100 shops across Norway.
Among individual municipalities, the increase is largest in Drammen near Oslo, whose inhabitants spent as much as 20 percent more per capita than the national average. By contrast, the capital itself fared comparatively modestly, at 78 percent of the national average.
So far this year, one in ten Norwegians has procured erotic articles online.
"It is quite apparent that the closure in connection with the corona pandemic has led to an increase in sales of all forms of entertainment and play at home. It is therefore not unnatural that sales of erotic items topped our overviews of the categories with the highest growth several times during this period", Klarna marketing director Thomas Elvestad noted.
According to the company's figures, women are increasingly active in these categories. Over the past year, their share in total sales has increased by seven percent to 46%. The increase is largest among women aged below 35, who are also the largest group of buyers.
"So even though men still account for over 54 percent of the total volume in the category, the growth among women, especially in the younger age groups, has been significant", Elvestad said.
According to Maria Ebbestad, press officer of Nytelse, one of Norway's largest online stores with sex toys and erotic products, her company experienced a "strong growth in turnover", up to 150 percent in individual months.
Soaring sales of erotic articles during the pandemic have been witnessed in other countries as well, both in Europe and across the globe.
Norway has seen a total of 32,765 coronavirus cases and 306 fatalities.
