Does Size Actually Matter? What the Research Says
Most people assume bigger sells better. A 2024 study published in The Journal of Sex Research actually tested that assumption against real sales and review data, rather than guesswork — and the results cut against almost every stereotype about what people want.
What the study actually did
Researchers at the University of Kent analyzed 265 phallus-shaped, vaginally insertable toys sold by Lovehoney, using the retailer’s own popularity rankings, star ratings, and review activity to build a genuine measure of what people actually liked, not just what got made or marketed. They then checked which features — size, material, realism, vibration — actually predicted that popularity.
The findings
- Larger circumference predicted lower popularity, not higher. The five most popular products in the entire sample averaged a circumference just slightly above the real-world human average — not dramatically larger.
- Length didn’t predict popularity at all. It had no measurable effect either way.
- “Realistic” features didn’t help. Skin-toned coloring, a defined glans, veins, or a scrotum — none of these predicted popularity, aside from a very slight preference for a veined texture. People buying these toys largely weren’t shopping for a literal replica.
- Vibration didn’t predict popularity either, which surprised the researchers given how central vibration is to female orgasm generally. Their read: people buying a dedicated insertable toy seem to want that specifically, and get clitoral stimulation from a separate vibrator rather than a combined one.
- Higher price predicted lower popularity, once other factors were controlled for.
Why this tracks with other research
This isn’t an isolated finding. Other work the study cites backs up the same pattern: when women are directly asked whether size matters, only about 1 in 5 say it does, and separate research has found roughly 85% of women report being satisfied with their partner’s actual size. The cultural assumption that bigger is unambiguously better doesn’t hold up well once you actually ask people or watch what they choose.
The takeaway
If you’ve been agonizing over picking the largest option because it seems like the “safe” choice, the actual data points the other way. A well-made toy sized close to average, in a material and shape you find comfortable, consistently outperforms the extremes in what people actually keep buying and rating well. See how to choose an insertable toy for how to put this into practice.
Related reading
Source: Johns, S. E., & Bushnell, N. (2024). What Drives Sex Toy Popularity? A Morphological Examination of Vaginally-Insertable Products Sold by the World’s Largest Sexual Wellness Company. The Journal of Sex Research, 61(2), 161–168.