With the nationwide shortage of toilet paper not ending anytime soon, it seems that people are opting for other methods. Most Aussies only see the bidet as a bougie bathroom accessory in hotels, but they may be making their way into our homes soon enough.
Home product company and bidet supplier Brondell have seen a dramatic increase of sales recently and are currently selling a bidet on Amazon every two minutes, or about one thousand units per day.
Toilet paper may flushed into the past as global bidet sales spike worldwide during Coronavirus-induced shortages.
The company also earned $100,000 in one day this week through Amazon sales, an “exponential” increase over an average day according to company spokesperson. Brondell’s direct sales have also spiked and overall sales demand across all of the company’s retail channels has increased by about 300 percent, Brondell president Steven Scheer told press.
“As the toilet paper wars have raged on we’ve seen a large and vocal community of passionate bidet advocates stepping up to promote the benefits and hygiene of washing with water,” Scheer said.
A representative from Hygiene for Health has confirmed that The GoBidet 2003C model, a chrome bidet attachment that sells for $146 on Amazon, has seen a 50 percent increase in demand over the last 14 days.
The humble bidet is a commonly used appliance worldwide, but never found its feet in the Australian or American markets. In his book Where Stuff Comes From: How Toasters, Toilets, Cars, Computers and Many Other Things Come to Be as They Are, Professor Harvey Molotch suggests that the bidets were originally rejected by the English, who believed that the French imported products were tainted with French sensuality – this attitude then carried over to the US and Australia.
The surge in demand for bidets comes as some retailers have imposed limits on the number of toilet paper rolls purchased per customer as people begin to stockpile goods over coronavirus fears. Coles have limited customers to only buying one pack of toilet paper at a time.
“There’s a lot of interest in our products,” a Brondell representative said. “We wish it were under different circumstances.”
