Top things that have changed for sex toys in 10 years

4 November is World Sex Toy Day! To mark the occasion, let’s take a look at how this market has changed and evolved over the past 10 years.

How have sex toys changed in 10 years?

1 - Sex toys go mainstream

Buying a sex toy is no longer just for a niche, specialist audience. These days, ordinary people have a toy in their bedside drawer. We’ve realised that pleasure is good for your health! And we all like being healthy, no? Toys have become mainstream products, even sold in supermarkets! They’ve come a long way from shelves behind the tinted windows of little dark shops to the intimate essentials aisle at Monoprix. Today, 51% of French people have used one, compared with 19% in 2010. At Passage du Désir, toy sales rose by... 400% between 2011 and 2021! Now that’s impressive growth!

2 - How products have evolved

Oh yes, sex toys have grown up over the past 10 years too! Just as we’ve moved from mobile phones to smartphones, technological advances have transformed intimate toys. The famous rabbit from Sex and the City and the "designer" duck have been displaced by contactless stimulators and connected toys. Sales of the latter have increased tenfold over the past 10 years.

Indeed, sales of rabbit have fallen by 40% in recent years. Today, more than one in four sex toys we sell is a contactless stimulator. The famous vibrating ducks have all but disappeared in favour of high-tech, stylish sex toys.

In the past, manufacturers borrowed from the world of children’s toys — bright colours and playful shapes — to make people feel less guilty about buying sex toys. Today, our favourite toys take their cues from high technology, with understated, futuristic designs.

3 - How certain practices became mainstream

Attitudes have changed over the past 10 years too! Some practices, such as anal play, are no longer taboo, even for heterosexual men. Sales of anal plugs have increased twelvefold in recent years. At Passage du Désir, one in two plugs is bought by a man. Light BDSM has also come into the spotlight and been demystified, not least thanks to the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey series.

4 - The sex toy has become something couples use together

The sex toy was often seen as a way to make up for a lack of sex; today, it’s a real tool for couples to use together! And yes, most sex toy users — 51%, to be exact — use them as a couple! Once again, it shows how attitudes are changing. Intimate toys are increasingly seen as pleasure boosters rather than secret objects for shameful solo use.

5 - Sex toys go premium

Thanks to technological advances, sex toys are becoming increasingly premium. Some premium brands, such as Lora di Carlo, have even won microrobotics awards for their ingenious technology! Ten years ago, the average price of a toy was €34.50. By 2021, it had risen to €55. While most sex toys used to run on batteries or mains power, the majority are now rechargeable, very often waterproof and even usable remotely, which helps explain the price increase.

So, were sex toys better in the old days?