Recent research by Bedbible.com, which describes itself as ‘a leading source for comprehensive research and insights into the adult industry’, suggests the worldwide sex toy market could be worth an astonishing $35 billion, with the US alone accounting for $12.6 billion of the overall total.
But perhaps the biggest headline statistic from this study is the sex toy sector grows at a rate of 13% per year.
Bedbible arrived at these figures after conducting a survey of 30,760 US consumers, and also integrated previous research, sales data from Lovehoney Group, and multiple other sources, and compared it to figures from 2017.
Other notable numbers from the study, which can be seen here, include:
78% of Americans over 18 owned at least one sex toy in 2023, up from 65% in 2017.
82% of women and 75% of men own at least one sex toy.
39% prefer to use sex toys alone rather than with a partner (up from 23% in 2017).
Ownership of anal toys has tripled in the last five years.
The 50+ age bracket has seen the biggest increase in sex toy sales (up 17%).
Despite these figures, 73% of respondents believe that sex toys are still taboo in society, which is an increase of 10% in five years.
Bedbible representative Jacob Bager commented: “The data clearly shows a shift in societal norms and acceptance.”
However, he added: “While the industry is booming, there’s still work to be done in breaking down stigmas and taboos surrounding sex toys.”
