Ask any Millennial or Gen Z what occupied during them during the lockdown and their answers would range from getting high and binging Netflix to the lucky few being able to have sex regularly during a pandemic. This in fact, true and was a trend that was seen in various metropolitan Indian cities, according to consumer behaviour reports.

Dunzo, a conceirge service analysed delivery reports and found these 3 items to have a surge in delivery during the lockdown - condoms, contraceptives and rolling papers! While you may think that customers would order these items during the night, the demand for condoms was two fold during the day! Even the sale of contraceptives was 3 to 6 times it’s usual rate during the lockdown.

Each city was unique in the way it’s citizens spent their lockdown. With Hyderabad topping the list of the survey, it showed a 6 fold increase in the sale of its condoms. While couples in Hyderabad were bust enjoying the lockdown, people of Chennai and Jaipur were not too far behind either, with a 5 time increase in condom sales. Mumbai and Begaluru too, saw a 3 times surge in the sale of protection.

Even the sale of sexual wellness products like contraceptive pills faced a sudden increase in demand in the cities of Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Hyderabad. The city of Jaipur also saw a surge in demand for pregnancy testing kits.

While sex was definitely on most peoples mind, getting high was definitely a priority too. Bengaluru and Hyderabad saw a bizarre increase in the sale of rolling papers by almost 22 times it’s normal rate!

An increase in the number of people getting high would also understandably lead to an increase in the demand for food (because , munchies) and items like chicken biryani in Bengaluru, dal khichdi in mumbai , aloo tikki burger in Gurgaon and the good- old idli in Chennai seemed to craved by everyone.

This increase in sexual wellness products in cities can be understood as a product of couples being cooped together at home during lockdown. Our hectic city lives barely allow us to have a cup of evening tea in peace, let alone a romantic night with a partner. However, this lockdown seemed to bring things right on track with giving couples some much needed quality time. Even singles, were inspired by the Dutch Government’s ‘Sex bubble’ guideline and sought after a steady sexual partner during this lockdown.

Rajiv Mehta, consultant psychiatrist tells News18 "In times of war and epidemics, intimacy levels go up among sexual partners. People are anxious and living at home. Couples, married or otherwise, who were too busy with their professional lives are now getting proximity and time. So intimacy will increase as it has increased during wars. This is a war-like situation. Fatigue is one reason married couples in big cities don't have regular sex. So, basically, people are getting back to normal sexual life.”

While the sale of contraceptives and condoms were on an increase, many experts predict a ‘baby boom’ in the coming year as a result of the increased intimacy this lockdown generated between couples. In fact some people have even coined this coming generation as the ‘Quaranteens’.

2020 has indeed been a roller coaster. With some definite bad times but also some unexpected good moments, how bad could it have actually been if along with your groceries you were also frequently purchasing condoms and rolling paper?