TEAM WSL
There was a time when anything remotely sexual was also spoken in hush-hush tones. Today the scene is immensely different. Sexual lives are not only discussed openly among girl friends, but there’s a new trend on the rise too – the use of sexual products and accessories.
One of the major factors behind this success is the growth of online shopping and e-commerce websites. This is perhaps one of the markets that has reaped the maximum benefits. From shady stores and prying eyes, the scene of shopping has drastically changed to the comfort of home and privacy, even giving the women an option to browse through products for as much time as they like without any hesitation.
Yes, there was a time when women shied away from using these products, but the attitude is changing. Sneha (Name changed), an advertising professional from Bangalore tells us, “My husband and I, both like to experiment when it comes to the bedroom. The accessories add in that extra spunk sometimes and we really don’t mind splurging on it. Lots of my other friends too, have no inhibitions in using sexual accessories and toys. In fact, lots of my single friends even use vibrators.”
And while earlier, there were only niche and specific sites that catered to this category, seeing the growing demand, many mainstream players have jumped right in too! Online giants like Flipkart and SnapDeal now have ‘Sexual Wellness’ as one of their categories and sell a range of lubricants, oils and mood enhancers. The niche websites (such as iambesharam.com) are still around and have a much wider range of products and categories. And the competition is only getting bigger and better. In fact, only recently, Digital E-Life from India, tied up with LoveHoney from UK, for an exclusive distribution of a variety of sexual products and accessories based on Fifty Shdes Of Grey, a novel series, and soon to be a released movie that changed the way many women looked at experimenting in the bedroom.
Currently valued at approximately 1,300 crores, the industry is all set to face a major boom in the future with an estimated value of 2450 crore by 2016 and roughly 8500 crore by the decade end.
