Technology is changing the face of the sex toy market

Back in 2012, a tongue-in-cheek story about poor, bored Canadians broke when it was discovered that in the wake of the hockey lockout, sex toy sales seemed to skyrocket. “We’d be gearing up for [hockey season] now, but there’s nothing, so I guess we need to find some better ways to spend our time,” Vinay Morker, owner of Hush Lingerie and More in Edmonton, told the Toronto Sun at the time.

But it may not have been hockey withdrawal that caused Canadians to flock to adult novelty stores after all. In 2013 the country saw another year of increased sales, as noted by the rise of the major Canadian online toy distributor Pink Cherry. The site broke record sales in November 2013, which was quickly followed by predictions that those numbers would continue to rise. And earlier this year, continued growth in the industry was partly attributed to the success of books and film, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” a trend not limited to Canada. At the time, CBC reported that, “Market research company IBISWorld estimates the adult store industry in America is now worth $633.8 million US, more than doubling sales since 2007.”

So is it time yet that we stop searching for the next big “cause” of sex toy sale increases and just admit it? Canadians like sex toys! The growing interest and sales aren’t surprising to industry insiders like Lesley McHale at Womyns’ Ware in Vancouver. She says that while the Internet has brought in many new buyers who now feel safe from stigma, she has also seen a marked increase in the number of toys regular buyers are purchasing.

She says she wonders if this is in part due to a wider variety of available toy types, as well as greater functionality. The Internet hasn’t just changed how we buy our toys. It has brought about a new era of sophisticated, connected devices that come with phone apps, USB charging cables, remote controls and even Internet connectivity.

Some of these devices, technologically advanced or part of a luxury line, are often on par in terms of cost with small or even major kitchen appliances. The latest iteration of what was once named the most popular sex toy in Canada, the remote-controlled WeVibe 4 Plus, currently retails for $225 on the Womyns’ Ware website. Other luxe designers have gone as far as to design toys made from precious metals and gems. Toymaker Lelo’s golden Inez dildo cost US$15,000, this silver unicorn butt plug by Betony Vernon retailed for $3,475 US, and the Jimmyjane LITTLE PLATINUM diamond-studded bullet vibe sells for $495 US.

Cost and complexity of these new devices are just two of the many reasons McHale believes that online shopping will never mean the end of brick-and-mortar stores.

“The challenge for a person purchasing toys online is that they don’t want to take the risk of spending a significant amount of money on something they know little about.”

Having a physical location behind the website, she says, encourages customers to purchase online. “When people realize that they can easily be taken advantage of by online vendors, they will try one way or another to find a brick-and-mortar store where they can touch the products and see how they operate, receive information on what to expect and how to deal with a potential functional challenge.”

“Today, customers are intelligent buyers,” McHale told Yahoo Canada. “They know how to comparison-shop and source out reliable information. More and more, folks are buying sex toys and it is now considered the norm and the fear of a partner being replaced,” one of the stereotypical fears expressed about the most common toys, “has been certainly reduced.”

Those most common toys, according to Pink Cherry and McHale, include male masturbators and clitoral vibrators. But they are really just the beginning when it comes to the toys on the market these days, and Pink Cherry’s research suggest that Canadians know just how varied toy selection can get. You might suspect that urban locations like Toronto or Vancouver would be hotspots for more risque activities, or more likely to pick up a Fifty Shades inspired item. But results from the online retailer show that the less-populated locations across the country are topping the list of Canada’s Kinkiest Cities. Based on sales of “spanking accessories per person, including whips, floggers, crops and paddles,” the top ten locations for Canadian kinksters include Mahone Bay, N.S. (1st), 100 Mile House, B.C. (3rd), Fort McMurray, Alta. (6th) and Brighton, Ont. (8th).

Whether it’s a new technological advancement or a new bestseller that is the next face of change for the sex toy industry, McHale doesn’t expect those shifts will be game-changing for retailers, even if they are for consumers. She believes that we are pleasure-seeking creatures. “Patterns may change,” she says. “Tastes may change, but the business of selling toys isn’t going away any time soon.”