The gist

  • People of Worcester have been buying the most adult toys since lockdown
  • During the quarantine, the sex toy industry has seen a significant increase in sales
  • Llandrindod Wells was UK’s kinkiest city in 2019
  • London named the UK’s least kinky city in 2019

The weather is getting hotter and so are our antics in the bedroom, according to Quidco research.

We’ve done this before. For Valentine’s Day 2019, we set out to find which UK town or city was the kinkiest. Due to absolutely no public demand whatsoever, we thought we’d do a lockdown version.

Being stuck indoors may be boring but as a nation, we’ve been finding ways to entertain ourselves. Some of us are gaming, taking part in virtual pub quizzes and becoming our own personal hairdressers. And then some of us are buying a bulk-load of adult toys from the web.

Hand sanitiser not the only item being stockpiled

Yes, since social distancing measures have been enforced, the nation’s appetite for adventurous fun has increased significantly. Through Quidco, you can get cashback on adult toys and lingerie from brands such as Lovehoney, Ann Summers and Figleaves. We also offer cashback on brands that facilitate safe sex, such as Durex and British Condoms. Since the beginning of lockdown, we’ve seen a peak in members buying from these retailers.

Over the first two weeks, the number of Quidco members buying products from adult toy suppliers has shot up by 25%, spend in this category has risen by 23%, and people clicking through to these brands has rocketed by 30%.

All this suggests that to fight the quarantine blues, lots of the population are taking to the bedroom to provide their own fun. And that they’re not doing this empty-handed. The rise also suggests that individuals who may not have partaken in these antics before have been encouraged to do so, thanks to lockdown.

We’re not the only people to see this rise. In New Zealand, 48 hours before the lockdown was imposed on the 25th March, one adult toy seller, Adult Toy Megastore, saw that their sales had tripled

Worcester finds itself on top

We dove deeper into the stats. The aim was to find which town or city specifically was buying the most adult toys. We looked at the number of Quidco members in each UK town or city and calculated how many of them had made a purchase in the adult category through Quidco.

The people of Worcester, it turns out, have been the kinkiest in lockdown. Yep. The city nestled in the Midlands has seen the largest number of adult toys, lingerie and safe sex products bought. 0.46% of Quidco members in Worcester have been getting cashback from sexy retailers since the beginning of March.

This may not seem massive. But remember, this is a niche industry. For context, the percentage of Quidco members getting cashback on food and drink in Worcester is 4.7%. That means that for every 10 people using Quidco to save money on food, one person is using it to get cashback on adult products.

We found that Worcester’s population had a particular interest in adult toy and lingerie retailers, including Ann Summers, Lovehoney and Fig Leaves.

We also wanted to get a broader perspective into what areas of the country are stockpiling adult products in this quarantine. Although Worcester, the kinkiest city, is in the Midlands, this part of the country didn’t emerge as the kinkiest region.

It was the people of the South East who came out on top. Of the Quidco members who reside in this part of the country, 3.22% are buying adult products to help with the quarantine struggle.

Which town was king kinky in 2019?

Those who read our study into this subject Valentine’s Day 2019 will know that it was the humble town of Kirkwall in Orkney, an archipelago north of Scotland, that was crowned king of kink.

Sorry, Kirkwall. You’ve lost your throne. Though still in the top 10, the Scottish town has been surpassed by the likes of Stevington, Darlington and Harrogate. The top place for the kinkiest town of 2019, however, goes to Llandrindod Wells, the picturesque town in Wales.

A huge 5.5% of Quidco members living in the Welsh town have brought some kind of product from adult retailers in 2019.

Similar to our study last year, we’ve again found that it’s not the big cities that are the kinkiest. It’s more the smaller, more rural towns.

On the banks of the River Tame

With its reputation of being a liberal cosmopolis, you may be surprised to hear that London emerged as the least kinky town of 2019. Compared to 5.5% Quidco users being kinky in Llandrindod Wells, the percentage of Quidco users buying kinky products in London was a meagre 0.28%. Sort it out, London.


So, it looks like the lockdown has encouraged us to spice up our bedroom lives a bit, especially if you live in Worcester.

If you live in Llandrindod Wells, it appears you don’t need any quarantine encouragement to get your kink on. You’ve been buying adult products before this lockdown made it cool.

If you’re inspired to start your own bedroom adventures, you can get cashback on all of our partnered adult retailers HERE. There's up to 30% cashback up for grabs!