Armagh has secured a surprising place ahead of Belfast in a UK-wide ranking based on sexual wellness purchases. The city was placed 77th overall in an analysis by sexual wellness retailer Lovehoney, which examined one year of sales data from 698 towns across the country.
The ranking was published on 22 August 2026 and is based on purchasing patterns rather than survey responses. Lovehoney said the analysis was designed to show consumer trends and identify purchasing hotspots in different locations.
How Armagh compared
Armagh’s position placed it above Belfast, which came 206th in the table. However, several other Northern Ireland locations ranked considerably higher.
Dungannon was 14th overall, followed by Ballyclare in 17th, Ballymena in 28th and Newry in 31st. Ballymoney also featured strongly at 37th, while Enniskillen was the highest-ranking Northern Ireland town in eighth place.
The findings put Armagh ahead of the region’s largest city in the overall purchasing comparison, although the analysis does not provide a detailed category breakdown for Armagh in the supplied results.
Northern Ireland’s strongest performers
Ballymoney’s overall performance included a 14th-place UK ranking for anal sex toy purchases, 18th for vibrators and 20th for strap-ons.
Enniskillen, which the report said has a population of about 14,000, ranked fourth nationally for butt plug purchases, ninth for vibrators and 14th for role-play products.
Ballyclare’s 17th-place overall result was supported by high positions across several categories. It ranked 14th for strap-ons, 15th for bondage, 20th for vibrators, 17th for butt plugs and 23rd for anal sex toys.
Ballymena was particularly prominent in the fantasy and role-play categories. Its residents ranked 27th nationally for strap-ons, 35th for vibrators and 40th for bondage. The analysis also named the Fruity Lubricant Trio as the town’s favourite lubricant.
At the top of the UK table was Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, which recorded the highest per-capita purchases. It ranked first for vibrators and third for strap-ons. Londonderry was not included in the survey.
What the company said
Lovehoney said its interactive map allows users to compare their town with locations across the UK. Annabelle Knight, the company’s sex and relationship expert, said:
“Sexual wellness doesn’t only exist in big cities, it’s for everyone. Our data often shows strong engagement from smaller communities, where people may value the privacy, choice, and convenience of shopping online. It’s always great to see pleasure alive and well in every corner of the UK, and the sex map is a reminder that sometimes the most unexpected places have the most interesting stories to tell.”
The findings were reported by the Belfast Telegraph on Sunday, 23 August 2026. The supplied Armagh Journal material gives conflicting publication times for its own report: it lists publication at 21:00 on 22 August with an update at 10:03 on 23 August, while the article text says it was published at 08:09 and updated at 09:14 on 23 August.