The sex toy industry is projected to show a compound annual growth rate of 8,50% from 2023 to 2030. These are not just dry numbers – if you look around with open eyes, you will see just how mainstream sex toys have become.
Even 10 years ago, sex toys were mostly seen as niche items for the true kinkster. These days, it is likely that about 50% of your friends have tried or own a sex toy. Where did I pull this number from? My ass. This is a very rough estimate, but the point stands – gone are the days when sex toys were only used in niche communities.
The rise of sex toys is great news. We all deserve to enjoy great masturbation and great sex. What’s even better – this is an industry that is constantly evolving. A decade ago, I would not have imagined that we will have things like VR-compatible strokers and AI-driven sex dolls. It is truly an exciting time for being a sex toy enthusiast!
Now, where will we end up? Well, the sky’s the limit and I hope that we will see toys that I could not even imagine yet. That said, some trends can be predicted. And this is precisely what I will do here.
I will take into account the feedback of seasoned sex toy users and information from sex toy developers to predict some of the trends that we will see in the coming years.
So, without further ado, here are some of the key sex toy trends to expect from 2023 and beyond:
• High-end sex dolls will become more affordable
• The quality of VR porn will get even better
• Taboo around sex toys will crumble
• More sex toys for disabled people
• Long-distance toys will continue to soar in popularity
AI Integration in Sex Toys
Artificial intelligence is here to stay. Whether we like it or not. I will not get into a long debate on whether AI will be the end of all humanity or the best invention since sliced bread. What I do expect and hope is that the sex toy industry will be positively impacted by AI.
The signs we have seen so far are positive.
In the introduction, I already mentioned AI-driven sex dolls. And yes, RealDoll has done a splendid job at integrating AI solutions in sex dolls, but let’s be honest here – not everyone can afford to spend $10k on a doll. Luckily, we are seeing affordable sex toys that use AI as well.
For example, the LELO F1SV2 male masturbator uses AI in some of its features. All to make the toy more pleasurable for the user. And I am all for it. I fully expect to see other big sex toy developers like Kiiroo and Lovense follow suit and integrate some aspects of AI into their new toys.
High-end sex dolls will become more affordable
Sex dolls have been around for a while now. And there are well-built, almost eerily realistic sex dolls available in nearly all categories – from ebony goddesses to fantasy-inspired hentai sex dolls, there is something for everyone when it comes to dolls. For god’s sake, you can even find dolls inspired by comic book characters like Wonder Woman or Harley Quinn.
There is a catch though – most of the aforementioned dolls cost more than a thousand dollars. And, for most of us, buying a pleasure product at such prices is just too steep of an investment.
However, things are slowly but surely getting better. You see, the market for sex dolls is huge and the demand will not go anywhere soon. As such, we are starting to see budget-friendly sex dolls that do not make any sacrifices in quality.
For example, take a company like Tantaly. They are specialized in building sex doll torsos that feature all the perks generally only features in super expensive dolls – namely the hyper-realistic TPE skin, carefully crafted anal and vagina tunnels, and jiggly, detailed curves. Their landmark doll Britney costs less than $400, but can easily compete with the high-end stuff when it comes to the overall quality of the doll.
I am confident that the sex doll market will see a boom in the coming years due to the dolls becoming more affordable.
The quality of VR porn will get even better
Allow me to make a bold statement here – as of 2023, VR porn is the only category of porn worth paying for. VR Bangers is currently the prime platform for a steady influx of fresh, high-definition VR porn and the subscription plans are cheap considering what you get.
The site features some of the best VR pornstars in the world and pretty much every scene offered on the platform is technically very well-shot. Oh, and the site also features Dezyred, one of the most innovative VR porn games I have seen in a while.
In a nutshell, VR porn is in a very exciting place right now. Especially if you use a good VR sex toy to go along with the experience.
That said, this category of porn is still relatively new. Porn directors, actors, and producers are all looking to cash in on this world and new developments are happening at a breakneck pace. God only knows what type of developments we will see, but I am pretty sure that interactive porn will be as popular as “traditional” pornography in the coming years.
Taboo around sex toys will crumble
It is fair to say that for proud owners of female genitalia, the stigma is more or less broken already. For example, a wine night discussion on the best rabbit vibrators or something similar was considered pretty out there only 10 or so years ago These days? Completely normal.
For penis owners, things are a bit more difficult. Whether we like it or not, many cultures still associate men using toys with not getting any women and/or “giving up” on “real sex life.”
Luckily, I have been seeing things slowly get better. Especially during the last few years.
Why? Because many male masturbation toys are now more similar to high-end tech gadgets than something you would find in a cheap and dingy sex shop.
Such high-end toys are pretty remarkable and automatically change the mindset of the general public. Also, these types of toys have made men open enough to actually DISCUSS sex toys among their friends. Something that was pretty much completely avoided only a few short years ago.
As people open up more and sex toys improve, we will soon see a time when not a single man will get laughed at when he is researching something like the tightest Fleshlights.
More sex toys for disabled people
Western cultures are finally starting to understand that the sexual needs of people with disabilities are legitimate. Thus, more and more sex toy companies are starting to put out stuff like hands-free masturbators and vibrators.
And, seeing how successful these types of toys are, I expect to see every big developer start to consider that not all of their customers are always 100% healthy. This does not mean that the desire, one of the most human of all emotions, randomly goes away along with their physical health.
My hats off to every developer that has at least one disability-friendly toy in their line-up!
Long-distance toys will continue to soar in popularity
It is safe to say that the clusterf*ck of the Coronavirus pandemic was a difficult time for most of us.
Yes, there were a few positives (remember the Animal Crossing hype, anyone?) but in general, the timeline sucked. It sucked hard.
It did have one particularly positive aspect to it though – people discovered long-distance sex toys. You can’t be with your partner due to lockdown, but you still have a raging desire to get it on with them. What do you do? Well, people discovered that there are sex toys that can be operated by a partner from virtually anywhere in the world. It is not quite the same as having your partner with you, but it is much more fun than masturbating.
With the lockdowns and restrictions being over in most parts of the world, people are surprisingly still very interested in long-distance toys. Lovense in particular has made great long-distance capabilities one of its trademarks.
Seeing how well-received these types of toys are, I fully expect to see more great long-distance stuff being released.
Genderless sex toys
We live in times where gender fluidity is commonly accepted. At least in the Western world. As such, people are interested in sex toys that are not focused solely on one gender. To be completely honest, I still feel that this is one of the areas where the big players in the sex toy industry need to work harder.
I get it – most of us identify as female or male and this is just how it is. Pure statistics also correlate to better sales numbers. Still, gender-neutrality is not niche anymore and the demand for these toys is there. Wired wrote an excellent opinion piece on this topic in 2022 where the author argued that sex toy developers ultimately hurt themselves by discarding gender-fluid toys. I couldn’t agree more!
Still, I am positive in the long run and I am pretty sure that it will take no more than two years for every major toy developer to have at least one gender-fluid toy in their roster.
So, these were the 6 key trends I expect to see in 2023 and beyond. As you saw, there is a lot to look forward to so keep an eye out for all of the major companies.
What I am sure of is that this industry is only going to expand as more and more people are becoming open-minded about sex toys. I secretly hope that the next big thing will be something that we or anyone else did not manage to predict – a true market disruption similar to what Apple did with smartphones.
Whatever may come, I hope that I and all of our dear readers will get to see and enjoy what the sex toy industry will come up with next.
