Hims & Hers publishes sex survey—likely an attempt to keep sales coming

The news: Direct-to-consumer (D2C) telehealth company Hims & Hers Health published its “Let’s Talk About Sex: The 2022 Report,” billed as its first annual sex report.

The data: The report uncovered nine myths and one truth about Americans’ attitudes and behaviors around sex and sexuality.

While a provocative topic, the report isn’t exactly groundbreaking. The myths are familiar, ranging from “everyone’s having more sex than I am” to “men want sex, women want romance.”

The single truth: Americans are suddenly less confident in their sexual freedoms. That’s not surprising, given the timing of when this survey was fielded.

• The first panel of 5,234 adults between 18 and 65 was fielded online in April 2022.
• After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June, another panel of 2,000 was fielded in July.

Zooming out: Hims & Hers had a breakout Q2 2022 thanks to more aggressive marketing and the launch of two apps, one for Hims and one for Hers in iOS, with Android versions coming soon.

The company more than doubled its marketing spend YoY to $60.5 million for the quarter vs. $27.9 million in Q2 2021.

• Overall in 1H 2022, Hims & Hers’ marketing spend skyrocketed 98% to $108.58 million.
• And expect more of the same marketing spend in Q3, said CFO Yemi Okupe.

That high spending paid off—subscriptions surged 80% YoY, hitting 817,000 at the end of Q2 2022.

• Revenues were also up 87.1% YoY to $113.56 million and beat Wall Street estimates by $9.67 million.
• CEO Andrew Dudem credited the new apps with driving 3x the consumer engagement versus the website in the company's Q2 earnings call in August.

Why it matters: Sex is at the center of the Hims & Hers brand.

Via telehealth, its clinicians can prescribe or recommend products to treat erectile dysfunction, other sexual performance issues, and hair loss—as well as the resulting anxiety and depression someone might feel if they’ve experienced any of those conditions.

• “The categories that we're operating in are very emotionally charged, top-of-mind customer needs that when these customers are waking up, looking in the mirror—they're the things we're thinking about,” per CEO Dudem in August.

The big takeaway: At the end of the day, we think the value of Hims & Hers’ new sex report lies more in the titillating topic than the novelty of its findings.