Lovehoney Sells 36 Miles of Sex Toys

Image courtesy of Jon Millward

What does one sex shop sell in a year?

That’s what the U.K.’s largest retailer of sexy gifts and clothing, Lovehoney wanted to know, so they asked research maven John Millward to help figure out what, and how much, their customers were buying when it came to sex toys and other bits. Millward was given an almost all access pass (no last names or other identifying info) to 300,000 people’s purchases and 45,000 reviews of Lovehoney’s stock of 5,508 objects to incur pleasure. What he found were some pretty fascinating stats on the sale of sex toys. With access to the last 12 months of sales – that’s 850,000 orders placed by UK visitors, consisting of 2 million items, Millward concluded that Lovehoney sold 36 miles of sex toys. Oh, and he also found this out…

Lots of people like it wet

People like it so wet in fact that the amount of lube sold last year by Lovehoney would allow someone to have a continuous lube shower for 52 hours straight (that’s over two days without stopping)! Or, if you could replace lube with water – and still feel hydrated and not clog the drains – then a family of four could live with lube in lieu of water for 2 months. Either way, that’s testament to the already well stated sex play fact that lube makes sex more lusciously lovely. And while lubricants were the number one seller for guys, they were the number two seller for women and couples, with vibrators gaining the most buzz. Single women still buy the most vibrators – 11% more often than women in relationships.

Over a 119,000 cock rings can’t be wrong

Lovehoney sold 119,200 cock rings in the last 12 months, and, as they point out in their research roundup, that’s a whole lot of ring. In fact, it’s enough cock ring to encircle the Empire State Building 20 times. Wonder if that will help the Empire State building continue to remain standing tall?

Men buy most of the real fake shit

According to Millward’s findings, 1 in 5 men buy a sex toy for men, while 1 in 20 women make that same purchase. In defining these purchases, Millward writes “Only 1 in 20 women and are more likely to be simulacrums of real body parts, like women’s pussies, asses and mouths. They’re intended to stimulate too of course, but the simulation of real sex is at the core of their design.” When it came to fleshlight-type purchases, 73% of men chose pussy, 14% didn’t want to know what the hole actually was and chose a non-descript slit, 9% preferred to pretend it was ass, 4% went for the mouth, and 1% preferred to do it with an alien (which, if you’re going to do it – in my opinion – is the only way to go big, or go home).

Bi and gay men like their butt plugs best

Yes, 15% of single or bi women also purchased their butt plugs at Lovehoney, however, the majority of butt plugs were purchased by single gay, or bi, men (34%).  Attached gay, or bi, men bought butt plugs (29%) as did attached gay/bi women (15%). Straight men and women, attached or single, purchased butt plugs the least often – but straight men bought them more than straight women (go prostate!).

Men are size queens

When it comes to dildo purchases, women were more likely to buy a dildo that was less than 7.5 inches, while guys were more likely to buy a dildo that exceeded 7.5 inches. 35% of both straight and gay men bought realistic dildos that were over 8 inches in length, while only 25% of single, straight women did the same.  Same is true for butt plugs.

What sex toy stat most surprised you?