This just in: men account for FOUR OF EVERY FIVE sex toy transactions at LELO.com in the week before a big sporting event. This is a fact that LELO can prove.

On any typical day at LELO.com, 50% of transactions are made by men, and 50% by women. If you’re surprised by that figure, don’t be, because that’s a normal buying pattern throughout the whole industry. What might surprise you, though, is how that buying pattern changes in the run up to any big sporting event, like the Super Bowl in the US, or the Champions League final in Europe.

LELO has extrapolated from their data the idea that men and women in relationships must have a kind of agreement: the guy spends time with his friends to watch the big game(s), and in advance he sweetens the deal by buying his partner a vibe which she has chosen, or they’ve chosen together.

So What’s Happening?

LELO can’t be completely sure of the why, but they ARE sure of the when. Check out how it breaks down regionally: in the days before the Super Bowl, men represent 74% of all Americans buying from LELO; and in the week before this year’s Champion’s league final, which included two Spanish rival teams, more than 80% of Spanish transactions were made by men.

The graph below shows transactions by gender, marked with the dates of big international sporting events, and our projection of how the trend will increase in the run up to the World Cup soccer championship.

And What Are The Guys Buying?

So how do they know the guys are buying for their partners, and not for themselves? Well that’s pretty straightforward. Sales of the three products below explode in this pre-sport buying period, and as you can see, they are not male sex toys:

So in honor of the World Cup, LELO is offering FREE SHIPPING on any order made during the international soccer — er, football — tournament. Just use code “BRAZIL” at checkout on LELO.com.

Has your partner ever bought you a sex toy before a major sporting event, and what do you think explains it? Answer in the comments below…