Sex toys are one of the most popular adult products. From being "taboo" to being openly advertised, and now to being "de-eroticized", the market for sex toys is gradually expanding. In the past two years, with the liberation of sexuality, people no longer turn pale at the mention of "sex", and sex toy companies are no longer just small, dark shops selling "simulation toys" on the street. Instead, they have formed a preliminary complete industrial chain.

With the shift in sexual attitudes, the market size of China's sex toy industry has been steadily increasing. Data shows that in 2022, the market size of sex toys in China reached 168.53 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year growth of 4.7%. It is estimated that the market size in 2023 will be 179.43 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.5%.

 China's sex toy industry boasts a high growth rate and fragmented competition. The market has yet to see the emergence of dominant channels and leading brands, presenting considerable potential for growth and defining a typical blue ocean market. This is primarily attributed to the high gross profit margins and low costs associated with adult sex toys. According to industry insiders, the profit margin for most products in the industry can reach over 200%, with some even reaching 500%-1000%. The profit from a single box of condoms alone can amount to 20-50 yuan, while those in the delay category can generate 100-200 yuan. Sex toys for men and women are categorized into high, medium, and low grades, yielding profits ranging from 150-300 yuan.

Meanwhile, repurchase rate and return rate are also indicators that affect the evaluation of major manufacturers. Due to the privacy of purchasing sex toys, in order to prevent information leakage, most consumers tend to adopt a "better safe than sorry" mentality and will not request a return or lodge a complaint, even if they encounter inferior products.

 Sex toys require a high level of privacy when purchasing, and online sales channels that prioritize privacy protection are more favored by consumers. With the technological advancements in e-commerce shopping channels, both the convenience and privacy protection for users purchasing sex toys have been enhanced. Coupled with the support of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, the industry's service effectiveness and products have become more popular among users, leading to the rise of the sex toy e-commerce market. According to relevant data, JD.com is the e-commerce platform with the highest GMV in the global pornography and adult market, generating approximately $10.3652 billion in GMV for adult products in 2023; followed by Taobao and Amazon, which ranked second and third, with GMV of $5.5041 billion and $1.4314 billion respectively.

 However, the journey of e-commerce platforms in the sex toy sector is not always smooth, and various challenges even arise. Taking the YeMi mini-program launched by JD.com as an example, in July 2023, JD.com's YeMi mini-program was the first to launch on WeChat, and it specifically stated that "it takes national laws as the bottom line and social moral customs and good order as the standard". However, it was still suspended from service a few hours after its launch, with the reason being "no substantial service content to guide the jump". This shows that platform control is a threshold for e-commerce sex toys.

In addition, it is difficult to find entry points for sex toys in content e-commerce platforms such as Tiktok and Kwai. Short video and live streaming platforms usually have certain content norms and have user groups of all ages. Adult products displayed on such platforms are prone to arouse user resentment and also involve regulatory risks. Therefore, Tiktok and Kwai e-commerce platforms can only slowly open up to merchants of adult sex toys.

Moreover, even if e-commerce platforms are involved, they can only be flagship store brands. For those niche brands, they can only break through through their own media matrix accounts, opening up a new way of "private domain traffic attraction" and converting original content into users.