Kerikeri has ranked fourth in the country for sex toy sales, according to Australian firm Lovehoney data. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Kerikeri has ranked fourth in the country for sex toy sales, according to Australian firm Lovehoney data. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Kerikeri is the fourth most sexually liberated town in the country, if online sex-toy sales are anything to go by.
Australian firm Lovehoney released data this week ranking sales of its products per capita for 42 postcode zones around New Zealand.
Overall Kerikeri residents were the fourth biggest buyers of sex toys, beaten in kinkiness only by Queenstown, Wanaka and Wellington.
Figures for product sales by category showed Kerikeri was second overall in Aotearoa for strap-ons, third for butt plugs and fourth for vibrators.
Residents in the Bay of Islands town are, however, not particularly interested in roleplay — they rank a lowly 35th out of 42 for purchases of items such as French maid costumes, ''flirty nurse'' uniforms, catsuits and firefighter uniforms (warning: these firefighter uniforms would offer very, very little protection in the event of a real fire).
Roleplay costumes are especially popular in Whangārei, according to sex toy retailer Lovehoney. Image / supplied
Oddly, those rankings are almost exactly reversed in Whangārei.
Northland's biggest city apparently has little use for strap-ons but a keen interest in naughty dress-ups, placing eighth in New Zealand for roleplay costumes.
Overall Whangārei placed 12th. Data was not available for other Northland towns.
The single most popular item in Kerikeri was black lace thigh-high stockings, followed by the ''Love Bullet'' vibrator. The most sold costume in Whangārei was the "adult student".
Queenstown ranked first in every category. Poor old Mosgiel was last.
Covid lockdowns, plus the growing popularity of online shopping, may be behind rising sex toy sales but it's not clear why residents of one town would order lacy lingerie while others opt for handcuffs.
Sexologist Morgan Penn, who is based in Auckland but has family ties to Northland, believed lockdowns ''definitely'' played a role.
"Being stuck at home a lot of people asked themselves, 'What can we do? What are our options at home?' Boredom comes into it, and if you've been with a partner for a long time, it's like, 'What can we do to spice things up or be curious and try something new?','' she said.
Penn had also observed a lot of lockdown-related stress.
''What we know about pleasure and sexual activity is that it can be one of the best stress releases.''
She didn't know what was behind the varying tastes shown by different parts of New Zealand, or even within Northland. Her work had, however, led her to believe rural areas were more adventurous than cities.
''I see this in my clientele and this survey, the sex map, reflects that. I don't know if it's because in bigger cities there are more things to stimulate the eye and the mind, and you can go out and do lots of different things. In rural towns you have to make your own entertainment and make your pleasure at home.''
Sex toys had become increasingly normalised during the past year, Penn said.
''As a pleasure advocate, I'm really pleased about that. I'm especially pleased about places like Kerikeri with its older demographic. There might be a generation that hasn't had a chance to explore their sexuality before, or women may be feeling more empowered about their bodies, their sexuality and pleasure. I'm excited about that. It's going in a good direction.''
Last year Kaikohe hit the headlines for the country's biggest increase in online sex toy sales — 46 per cent — from another online retailer, Adulttoymegastore. Separate Kaikohe figures were not available in the latest survey.
