One business that is seeing a boom in sales due to the coronavirus and toilet paper shortages across the country is companies selling bidets.
“Sales have been up about [tenfold], which is pretty crazy,” Jason Ojalvo, CEO of New York-based bidet brand Tushy tells the New York Post in a piece published Tuesday. (RELATED: Here’s A List Of How Every Country In The World Is Responding To Coronavirus)
First folks bought all the toilet paper. Now are they going to buy all the bidets? https://t.co/3g41WFzZg9
— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) March 17, 2020
“Earlier this month it started out, you know, two times [the sales], then it went to three times [the sales] and then boom, like next thing you know it’s tenfold,” he added. (RELATED: LIVE UPDATES: Here’s What Every State In America Is Doing To Combat The Spread Of The Coronavirus)
San Francisco-based bidet brand Brondell said sales were up by more than 300 percent over the past week, Daniel Lalley, communications director for the company told the Los Angeles Times.
“In the midst of this unprecedented toilet paper run, we’re really grateful for the opportunity to provide those who need them with smart solutions for toilet paper replacement,” Lalley added. (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
And so it goes, just as a rush on toilet paper has resulted in a shortage in the country due to the pandemic, a rush on bidets is also apparently causing companies to share be out of stock.
Hellotushy.com has a message on its website that simply reads, “Gotta Go?! TUSHY bidets are on backorder and we’re working our butts off to get them to you ASAP!”
The use of bidets in European countries has been a trend for a long time, but Americans seem to prefer their toilet paper over the bathroom contraption.
According to a report by MentalFloss.com the reason goes back to the founding days of the country.
One developed country conspicuously absent from that list is the U.S. Why the bidet never caught on stateside is a bit of a mystery. In 2007, NYU professor Harvey Molotch offered a few theories to The New York Times. Because the fixture was a French invention, it was rejected by the English, and that sentiment drifted across the pond. During World War II, the Times notes, American soldiers saw bidets in European brothels, “perpetuating the idea that bidets were somehow associated with immorality.”
James Lin, the owner of bidet e-commerce site Bidet King, said they were seeing a huge bump in sales amid the fears of COVID-19, per Wired.com.
“We’re seeing increased site traffic, customer engagement, and sales volume,” Lin shared. “If you want to practice better hygiene and social distancing, getting a bidet sent to your home is a no-brainer.”