Adult retailers have entered 2019 emboldened by the vast opportunity that today’s online marketing tools are presenting them. Gone are the days of fearing the competition from online retail giants and big store chains — retailers today are taking a tech-forward approach to stay relevant in today’s digital age. Luke, a spokesperson for ecommerce retailer The Enhanced Male (TheEnhancedMale.com), told XBIZ that adult retailers today “are lucky enough to get more data than ever imaginable” about their customers. According to Luke, gaining feedback through social networking, online surveys and web analytics “should do a very good job of painting a picture of who your customer is.”
“It is only after you have identified this customer that you can truly speak to them and engage with them,” Luke explained. “If you are trying to talk to everybody, you are in fact talking to nobody.”
As with any other brand today, having an online presence — especially on social media — is proving itself to be crucial to adult retail business. For brick-and-mortar stores and online operations alike, social networking is serving as the essential tool for connecting with customers, as well as gaining insight into their shopping proclivities.
Megan Swartz, general manager for the Deja Vu Love Boutique chain, noted that social media has played a vital role to driving clientele into the stores and she stresses that it’s more than just posting a quick update. Social media allows retailers to connect and respond to customers in real-time, as well as engage them in promotions and sales.
“You have to engage each guest, respond to each review and be a timely resource of information and assistance,” Swartz explained. “Forging partnerships with other businesses and guerrilla marketing continue to keep us ahead of last year, as referral business is vital.”
Although social networking platforms like Instagram and Facebook shun adult companies’ advertising dollars, social media marketing mavens are overcoming these obstacles by joining forces with fellow adult brands and social media influencers to form powerful followings online.
Nick Mahler, owner of online retailer DallasNovelty.com, says that Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram, serve as the online retailer’s main platforms for engaging customers.
“We’ve been involved with social media since the beginning because we knew this would be the best way to get and keep customers looking to buy sex toys,” Mahler told XBIZ.
Even established retailers, like 49-year-old adult store chain Adam & Eve, are relying heavily on social media marketing.
“While we still see success with our online, television and radio advertisements, Adam & Eve is also utilizing social media, bloggers and influencers with great results,” Katy Zvolerin, director of public relations for Adam & Eve, told XBIZ.
While a retail giant like Adam & Eve may be able to afford major advertising campaigns, mainstream media also has become increasingly friendlier and more curious about pleasure products, and who better to serve as a media source than adult retailers.
“Mainstream media can help provide brand awareness on a national level to customers who otherwise might not know about Adam & Eve,” Zvolerin said. “Mentions and recommendations in media such as BuzzFeed, Cosmopolitan or AskMen add a certain legitimacy and provide permission to customers who may have been on the fence about purchasing an adult toy.”
The mobile/wireless explosion also is having an enormous impact on adult retailers. It’s now not only enough to provide convenient shopping online in its traditional format, but adult retailers must go a step above and ensure that they are available via mobile device. Online retailers who aren’t making a concerted effort to reach consumers on their mobile devices are likely to lose them.
Phoebe Grott, VP of buying and merchandise for Ella Paradis, describes social media as a valuable tool for strengthening business partnerships.
“We’ve seen success in partnering with manufacturer brands such as Kama Sutra, LELO and Satisfyer on social media giveaways and cross promotion to increase exposure,” Grott told XBIZ.
Ella Paradis also has launched a Preferred Customer program that is “designed to engage and incentivize customers to register as members to received exclusive promotions and offers,” Grott said. Among the perks of becoming a Preferred Customer are discounts, as well as a Preferred Customer Only dedicated help line.
Fantasy Gifts CEO Dee Bertino echoed the sentiment, adding that not only is social media effective in reaching today’s consumers, the fact that it’s free also, obviously, makes it extremely cost-effective.
“Instagram and Twitter are our two most successful channels and allow us more latitude than Facebook,” Bertino told XBIZ. “What we love about social media is not only is it free — it allows us to target our customers directly. In the old days, we used to have to spend a significant amount of money on billboards, radio and print, knowing that we’d only appeal to a small fraction of that audience.”
According to Mahler, providing customers the information they want means reaching them on the devices that they prefer.“The biggest change is customers making their purchases via a mobile device whether it’s an iPhone, iPad or any of the other popular platforms on the market,” Mahler noted. “We work every day to make our website layout as mobile device-friendly as possible while continuing to have it working perfectly on a laptop or PC.”
When it comes to convenience, no one comes close to Amazon. Nevertheless, at this point in Amazon’s existence, most shoppers have come to realize that convenience often comes as a price.
Bertino says she doesn’t “view Amazon as the same threat I did a few years ago” because “more consumers are getting the message that products bought on Amazon may not always be as advertised.”
“While a product may be cheaper on Amazon, it does not offer the immediate gratification of buying in a store,” Bertino emphasized. “Nor is there a friendly sales clerk to answer their questions. If Amazon evolves to drone shipping, we may be in trouble. But so long as they can’t help you size the perfect strap-on, I believe we still have a fighting chance.”
According to Andy Duran (education outreach and affiliate manager for Good Vibrations), one of the most effective ways to cope with Amazon is to offer exceptional customer service along with quality products.
Duran told XBIZ, “Convenience like Amazon does definitely come at a cost ... Amazon, Walmart and other large retail companies outside of the adult industry are notorious for selling imitation and knockoff vibrators, lubricants and so on.”
Mahler noted that Dallas Novelty “has never sold any sex toys or accessories on third-party sites such as Amazon, eBay, etc.” because it has “seen how they treat their suppliers, and we didn’t want to sacrifice our business for a few extra sales.”
“In the last year,” Mahler observed, “we’ve seen a huge jump in customers coming from the third-party websites to buy from us because they actually get customer service before and after a sale.”
Where Amazon succeeds in selling sometimes questionably made, mass-produced toys, adult retailers stand out with unique, curated product offerings. Nenna Joiner, founder of the Feelmore Adult Gallery in Oakland, stressed that remaining open to smaller brands has been one of the keys to the retailer’s success.
“We bring in new products — not just products from big brands, but also, new products that haven’t bubbled to the top,” Joiner told XBIZ. “It makes shopping fun for the consumer.”
The internet also has given customers, as well as a growing league of sex toy bloggers, a platform for sharing their experiences with products and certain materials. The result has been a greater demand for “high-quality, body-safe toys made of silicone and other nonporous materials,” Mahler said.
“For a long time,” he recalls, “manufacturers used cheaper materials such as TPE/TPR, PVC and mystery jelly. But sex toy influencers and toy reviewers/bloggers have played a pivotal role in the changeover. Customers started to care about what they were putting in and around the most sensitive areas of their body as well as their lover’s or partner’s body.”
Ana Sofía Giraldo, a sexologist and product specialist for Columbia-based retailer Pink Secret, said that in her market consumers are just beginning to become more familiar with pleasure products. In her store, couples-friendly lubes, lotions and potions are the top sellers.
“As our market is just learning about sex toys, lubes, creams, oils, pheromones, arousal oils will be the best-selling ones,” she said. “I also push them a lot because I believe is a safe step for couples and people that have never used a toy before (alone or with a partner.)”
To best showcase these consumables, Giraldo says presentation is everything.
“We give them a special place in the entrance of the store, where we know people will to go first,” she said, “also, we give them a lot of promotion through our social networks and online sales.”
The ability to reach out and touch sensual products also can make or break a sale.
“I think one of the keys to success in selling a product is to have a tester and to make the store a ‘please do touch’ store, with just one piece that will be the tester and the actual product can be stored in another part of the store, so that way people can feel the product and that makes them more eager to buy,” she said. “So, yes, it is important to have new displays and also to re-do exhibitions so it feels fresh when you still are working with the same goods.”
Giraldo recommends refreshing a store’s displays to coincide with holidays, as well as changing the general look of the sales floor at least twice a year.
As consumer awareness continues to rise in the U.S., and adult retailers continue to evolve into friendlier boutique shops, shoppers’ tastes are elevating. According to Swartz, high-end toys, particularly those that appeal to couples, are at the top-end of the upscale boutique market.
“Making sure that all team members understand the selling points and tactile demonstration capabilities of these toys ensure the most sales,” Swartz said. “Of course these items have the most visibility, top-notch merchandising and are always heavily stocked. We work closely with the leading brands so that we have access to all marketing and training material in addition to team member incentives.”
For maximum visual appeal, Swartz suggests keeping retail store floors fresh with new looks regularly.
“We feel that keeping our displays and merchandise not just rotated, but entirely shifted around the sales floor is absolutely paramount,” she said. “A guest who visits one month should be delighted to see what seems like an entirely new boutique a few months later. That said, we tend to do full rotations of merchandise at least every 60 days. While time and energy consuming, we reap the benefits by getting guests to look at the same products in a different light! We also set up areas to feature new items in fun, creative and eye-catching ways. We love to make a big push for new product, including creating displays, wearing branded apparel and social media photos and videos.”
By embracing technology in ways that will draw more shoppers to their physical store locations, adult retailers are bolstering the appeal of patronizing brick-and-mortar retailers. As more shoppers step into beautifully curated selections of quality goods supported by knowledgeable salespeople, Amazon’s cheaper, soul-less shopping experience continues to lose its draw.
