LOS ANGELES — "Clean up on aisle..." jokes be damned. Adult toys are now being stocked at Safeway, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart and many other national chains.
Trojan and Durex, two leading condom manufacturers that have branched out to produce vibrator lines and offer combo packages that include fingertip massagers and vibrating rings with their condoms, are leading the charge and reporting big sales.
"People are more comfortable than ever talking about vibrators and the idea of having one," Trojan Vice President of Marketing Bruce Weiss told USAToday.com.
Trojan also provided USAToday with exclusive data from marketing research company Nielsen that reported first quarter vibrator sales (of all brands) at national chains — excluding Walmart — to be at $4.4 million, a 14% increase from 2011's first quarter numbers.
USAToday noted the phenomenal success of E.L. James erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" and the recently released Sony Pictures' romantic comedy "Hysteria," about the invention of the first electric vibrator, as indicators that people are becoming more comfortable with their sexuality.
"Couples are less willing to tolerate lousy sex," sex therapist and clinical psychologist David Schnarch told the site. "People have much higher expectations."
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