Economy Affects Condom Sales

The economy has been in a tailspin the last couple of years and there doesn’t seem to be much hope on the near horizon. Yesterday morning as I watched the View, they cut to a clip of Whoopi Goldberg asking the other panelists if they have had to cut back on anything due to the economy and, naturally, the outspoken Joy spoke up first and said that she has not been able to Botox all the parts of her face that she really wants to. Now, I would love to say that the one thing we have had to cut back on is my frivolous weekly visit to the Botox clinic, but since I am several thousand dollars short of any type of face or body enhancement, that is not the case in our situation. Like most friends and family members I know, frivolous expenses are a thing of the past and downsizing lifestyles has become crucial to financial survival. Long gone are the twice monthly movie nights or the  weekly eating out dates. I pass by Starbucks woefully yearning for that pumpkin spice latte but quickly calculate in my head that the 4 dollars a latte I would normally spend would be much better utilized in our children’s education funds. However, amongst all the companies declaring bankruptcy and laying off thousands of workers each week, there is one industry that has actually seen a spike through this black economic cloud: the condom industry.

According to Ted Conley, the North American marketing head for Durex, “The category has traditionally been strong at times of economic downturn and we are getting anecdotal evidence that the same can be said for today. When you think about it, it makes sense that when money is tight, people stay in and make their own fun rather than going out and spending money.” This trend is not specific to the United States as even Europeans are spending less money on lattes and more on condoms. Perhaps sex has become a way to avoid the looming bills piling up on the kitchen table or maybe couples are realizing that bringing a child into the world at this time would be just too expensive or maybe, as speculated, sex is a way to have fun without all the unnecessary expenses.

Durex is owned by a healthcare organization named SSL International and spokespeople from here have disclosed that in the last half year, sales of condoms have gone through the roof. In Europe, a collection of condoms known as Play condoms have been particularly hot. According to SSL, sales in the past six months up to September 2008 have gone up almost 25%. A salesman from the company states, “Despite all that’s going on people are still looking to have fun judging by sales of our Durex Play products that help people have better sex, and our branded condoms like Performa, which by slowing the man down makes the fun last longer. By which time, the news will have ended, hopefully.”