In May of last year, XBIZ Premiere’s “Road to Recovery” special report served to recount the adult retail industry’s initial comeback following the sudden shutdown of business due to the coronavirus. After about a month of worried confusion, adult retailers were able to reopen and manufacturers also were able to resume business under strict guidelines for safety that continue to this day.
Over the past year, the adult retail industry adapted, experienced a sales boom and now with vaccines rolling out, some of our industry’s road warriors have started making plans to hit the road in the coming months. As the world inches towards “normalcy,” adult retail experts are predicting what that could possibly look like.
We believe that the overall customer base of sex toy users has grown, and that growth will translate to a long-term sustained increase in sales.
Among the biggest lessons of the pandemic was how much more technology could be utilized for business. As the world turned to meetings and conferences via video, social media and virtual trade shows to keep in touch professionally, socially and for entertainment, the adult retail business benefited in various ways. Danielle Seerley, senior sales executive for Voodoo Toys, says that companies utilized these new avenues to establish new business connections.
“It felt like there were a lot of new faces, and we may not have had that opportunity if we had maintained our traditional trade show format,” Seerley said. “Virtual shows are a lot more accessible to international clients, and come with very little cost. Eliminating the physical travel also allowed a lot of retailers to attend the larger shows for the first time. I was so excited to meet so many new stores and their retail teams. Again, if the pandemic hadn't happened, our meeting each other probably wouldn't have happened.”
Among the participants of January’s ANME/XBIZ show was Zindzhi Adrian Sloan, who participated in the virtual expo as her first-ever B2B with her online store, Zinful Pleasures.
“I was given the opportunity to meet manufacturers, distributors and fellow retailers whom I did not have direct access to before,” she said. “It was exciting and quite educational, which really sets the bar for my first in-person trade show in the future.”
Throughout the pandemic, adult retailers reported skyrocketing sales, which then drew attention from mainstream media that continued to feed into the popularity of pleasure products.
“More people are buying sex toys than ever before,” Hot Octopuss VP April Lampert said. “From manufacturers to retailers, everyone experienced a huge increase in demand. Web sales are stronger than ever and there’s been a sort of sexual revolution where sex toys are more accepted and talked about by mainstream media.”
Online retailer Pleasurable Seductions, which is marking is fifth year in business this year, saw 2020 bring its brand more credibility among consumers, says company owner Tomaria M. With more time to spend on mastering her company’s social media, the e-retailer has had more luck establishing their brand online.
“My company has been featured on countless reality TV stars’ Instagram pages, which also caused a surge in sales and daily activity for the online store and social media platforms,” Tomaria M. said.
Amid the pandemic, Satisfyer conducted a study that showed that adults were indeed becoming more interested in their sexual health. According to Satisfyer’s Stephanie Trachtenberg, the company's consumer study with Harris Poll in the fall of 2020 revealed that 30 percent of all adults said that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are more willing than ever to use a sexual pleasure device. Among the new pleasure products users are younger adults (42 percent of 18-34 year olds) along with 46 percent of 35-44 year olds. According to the survey, 36 percent of adults who use a sexual pleasure device for solo masturbation say their use has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began in mid-March.
“Now more than ever, consumers are looking for more accessible means to self-care,” Trachtenberg said. “Our Harris Poll indicates that consumers are now turning to sexual pleasure as a means of wellness. Additionally, this is supported by Spate trend search data indicating that organic search on pleasure devices saw an average of 30 percent increase in search for pleasure products since March 2020.”
Online retailer Wild Flower saw some of those curious shoppers come to its site, and reports that the initial quarantine period in the spring of 2020 was historically one of the largest periods of growth for the company. “While that spike has since calmed a bit, it hasn’t subsided completely and has left us with regular monthly revenues that are greatly exceeding our pre-pandemic projections,” said Amy Boyajian, the CEO and co-founder of Wild Flower.
After mandated shutdowns due to coronavirus, brick-and-mortar retailers had to adapt to restrictions and safety guidelines to operate. Mia Severns, the owner of Frenchy's Cruzin Books & Video, said that when shutdowns began in mid-March, business declined. Nevertheless, she remained steadfast in weathering the storm.
“I still answered the phone and was at the store every day,” she said. “Then we were able to open retail with a maximum of six persons in-store, and followed all county orders, and business has been absolutely amazing since May 1, 2020! We still gain new customers every day.”
While retailers were forced to close, brick-and-mortars brushed up on their social media skills and turned their attention to e-commerce. Nicole, the manager of Smitten Premium Adult Boutique said that the company’s efforts strengthened its business in various ways.
“We’ve introduced new services that will outlast the pandemic such as shopping via Messenger and contactless curbside pickups,” Nicole said. “This has driven new customers to take the first step into intimate exploration in a less intimidating way; they can access information and shop online from the comfort of their homes without having to come into the store. Fortunately, since we have reopened, we have seen many of these new customers also coming into the store to see our full selection of products and get the extra Smitten experience.”
The time away from trade shows and in-store trainings also allows manufacturers to refine their operations. “Business always benefits when you have the opportunity to rethink your processes and systems,” Uberlube’s Cheryl Sloane said. “The pandemic has forced us to do just that in a few key areas. We are making and shipping more lube than ever. Good things are on the horizon as Uberlube continues to be the small company doing big business.”
Lovely Planet sales director Anne Meunier points out that several industries saw success with offerings that can be enjoyed at home, such as kitchen appliances and other gadgets for entertainment while in quarantine. For the pleasure products industry, however, it is more significant because it served as a gateway to exploring sex toys.
Meunier cited “closing of stores paired with surfing the internet plus the urge to buy," along with a profusion of offers on sexual wellness items, as having convinced even reluctant customers.
COTR Sales Director Kimberly Scott Faubel calls it bittersweet that the adult retail industry succeeded despite the pandemic’s trying times. Nevertheless, it’s pleasure products that may have provided an escape.
“We know folks have been putting their self-care at a higher priority than they used to and, perhaps, experimenting more than they normally would have,” she said.
Manufacturers saw an increase in the sales of pleasure products in a wide range of categories.
“Business for me has benefited greatly,” said Duke, the maker of Duke’s Dolls. “My cartoon/comics site DukesHardcoreHoneys.com has almost tripled in revenue since the shutdown, and my sex toys from DukesDollz.com works as the perfect pleasurable experience — it’s great sexy entertainment for those forced to stay home for months.”
The pandemic provided an opportunity for customers to venture into new sexual explorations. According to Brian Sloan, the creator of the Autoblow masturbator, the pandemic “brought a lot of new buyers to the male sex toy niche that previously never owned a product like the Autoblow or a competing device. These new buyers will become long-term shoppers, expanding everyone's potential customer base,” he said.
Even more specialized devices were capturing the attention of shoppers. ElectraStim’s Claire Blakeborough said that the company saw a distinct increase in the sales of the brand’s e-stim products. “Electro isn’t a purchase people make on a whim,” she said. “It needs consideration and ultimately some time to figure it out. In a lot of ways, the last year has produced the perfect conditions for people to experiment in the bedroom.”
Different Times
While some people who were used to working in an office every day had to reformat their lives to adjust to working from home for the past year, it turns out that a significant portion of the pleasure products biz was already working from home.
“The COTR team has always worked remotely, so the pandemic didn’t change our daily operations,” COTR’s Kimberly Scott Faubel said. “However, we did quickly establish ways of offering virtual trainings in March 2020.”
Faubel, like most pleasure products sales execs, says she believes it would be foolish not to continue to utilize technology for long-distance training sessions.
“It’s just more convenient for a lot of people, particularly when it comes to the costs associated with travel,” she added. “Virtual trainings won’t replace all in-store trainings, but they are a resource we will keep in our tool belts indefinitely. We’ve also utilized Slack to stay connected with one another throughout the days and have enjoyed some fun group activities to keep our company meetings fun during times when little else was.”
While scheduled and impromptu meetings might interrupt a day at the office, working from home has been more productive for some.
“Although wherever possible we want the entire team at HQ, the last year has shown us that working from home can be viable from time to time,” ElectraStim’s Blakeborough said. “Sometimes there are tasks that need doing where you need as few distractions as possible!”
Sohimi’s Jeff Chen said that the company has primarily operated with its employees located remotely.
“For people with self-discipline, [working from home is] faster and even three times as efficient as usual without interpersonal costs,” he said. “However, for people who need supervision to work well, it would lead to inefficiency. It depends on individuals.”
Hot Octopuss' April Lampert envisions a future led by technology. “I think we’ll see more companies eliminating office spaces and allowing more employees to work from home,” she said. “I think virtual meetings will become a ubiquitous part of most companies’ operations.”
Nevertheless, Lampert says that she is a firm believer in in-person training being the most effective. In-person store visits also allow manufacturers to get a feel for retail store environments, which can help with business strategy.
“In my opinion, face-to-face with staff is the key to building brand loyalty and is the best way to ensure [retailers] have the proper education and techniques to sell your products,” she said. “There will probably be quite a few changes from how business travel and trainings were done before. Travel in general is now more difficult than it was pre-pandemic; it’s definitely not quite a fun as it used to be. Also, in terms of in-person meetings/trainings, there will be limitations to the number of people who can attend trainings, events, workshops, trade shows, etc. This means being adaptable, patient and understanding.”
Adjustments that have been made to ensure health and safety are also most likely here to stay. Kheper Games CEO Brian Pellham said that he plans to keep hosting virtual meetings and training.
“We'll communicate with our customers about when they will want to see us when we feel safe,” he said. “We can socially distance pretty well with just 14 of us in a 20,000-square-foot warehouse, so we've all been at work at Kheper Games fully since last May.”
With Kheper’s games serving as entertainment during the quarantine and for those that are still practicing social distancing, Pellham isn’t too anxious to return to face-to-face interactions. “Until further notice, we'll not be hitting the road until we have herd immunity,” he said.
Viben Toys Brand Manager Char Lopez looks at all of the changes that businesses made as beneficial.
“I think working from home has shown some industry leaders and other professionals how to balance work and life more efficiently,” she said. “I know that is something that has impacted my life incredibly.”
Lopez also is grateful for developing her skills as a communicator, she said, noting how she feels more comfortable conducting trainings online.
“It is more of an option to me than it ever was before, now that I feel more comfortable doing it,” she said. “I definitely think that working from home and virtual meetings and trainings are here to stay. It gives us the ability to do more and eliminate unproductive hours.”
E-retailers that primarily conduct their business online were the most comfortable with the shift to virtual meetings. “If anything, the pandemic has really reinforced our digital-first strategy,” Wild Flower’s Amy Boyajian said. “While we look forward to connecting with folks IRL when the time comes to safely do so, we will always put special effort into making our work accessible online too.
“From the beginning we’ve found that virtual meetings tend to be more accessible and respectful of people’s time, while still sharing valuable information and making connections,” they added. “As long as people have samples in their hands and we are able to find some time to connect, virtual meetings have always worked best for us.”
Technology may have made it possible to connect with business partners and colleagues online, but it’s not without its flaws. Passionate Playground CEO and founder Deborah Semer says, “It's harder to hear people with masks [and] through the internet.” She adds, “The pro side is there may be less distractions, so more focus.”
Massimo Bonera of Italy-based Welcomax says he’s adjusting to doing business virtually — including his sex talk TV show, which he’s now filming from home. “It’s still impossible to work in television studios at the moment,” he said, noting that he’s eager to return to in-person events. “I can't wait to go back to travel, have meetings and participate in trade fairs.”
Björn Radcke, the head of sales and marketing for Orion Wholesale, echoes the sentiment regarding the value of the communications tools that have become the norm as acceptable alternatives to in-person gatherings. Nevertheless, he points out the uncertainty that comes with the return of trade events.
“Even though Zoom meetings and other virtual meetings are good alternatives, they can’t replace the direct, personal contact with our customers that Orion values so much,” Radcke said. “That is why we will meet our customers in person as soon as we are able to. Unfortunately, nobody knows when that will be, but we are looking forward to it.”
Several of the pleasure products industry’s “road warriors” are back on the road, adjusting to new restrictions and taking safety measures while traveling.
“Everything is very different and we make safety our highest priority — distancing during trainings/meetings, masks are worn at all times, and gloves are optional,” Adrien Lastic’s Jackie Richerson says of the company’s U.S. business travels that began a few months ago. “The cleaning of testers between store meetings has also been more thorough. We’ve always been sticklers about making sure to sanitize between hands but the vigor has certainly been bumped up.”
Blakeborough says that ElectraStim also plans to make in-store visits once guidelines allow it. Among the new precautions that the company will take, she says, are wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and a lot of sanitizing.
“Of course, we’re still more than happy to do training sessions via Zoom for international customers or any U.K. stores that would prefer this approach,” Blakeborough said. “We’ll all need to be a little more conscious of keeping a distance and washing our hands, but we’ve all gotten into good habits over the last year so it’ll be lovely to go out again and see people in person.”
Lulu Batista, the owner of online retailer OohLuluCherryBox.com, said that she is eager to return to business travel and in-store training — however, she plans to ease back into traveling and will be taking more precautions.
“We’ll be taking breaks between different states we may visit, stopping to take a COVID test here and there, still wearing our masks, and still doing virtual meetings,” she said.
Satisfyer’s Ian Kulp expects that most people’s attempt to return to a state of pre-pandemic normality will be “more methodic, personalized and structured.”
He adds, “Obviously, things will be different, with more frequent sanitization, distancing and safety protocols in place, but we hope to ignite the same spark and energy as pre-pandemic life.”
Some sales execs refused to let the pandemic stop them from doing their business as usual. Svakom Sales Manager Alexandro Feynerol said that aside from pausing for about two months at the start of the pandemic, he’s mostly stayed on the road.
“The first period I spent it mostly abroad, getting the opportunity to visit my clients in Latin America,” he said. “Since the end of last year I’ve begun to visit more stores in the U.S.”
According to Feynerol, the changes are not as major as they may seem.
“Other than the six-feet distance and the mask regulations, everything is pretty much the same, with a few extra minor differences from store to store,” he said.
The Show Must Go On
Some of the adult retail biz’s most memorable and productive interactions take place during the multiple trade shows and gatherings that are held every year. After a year of virtual meetings, several execs are ready to return to in-person shows — however, not until they feel completely safe in doing so.
Frenchy’s Cruzin Books & Video owner Mia Severns says that trade shows are crucial to growing an adult business, and that once COVID-19 is “under control” she will definitely attend in-person trade shows “if there's a healthy approach to keep everyone safe.”
Similarly, Tomaria M. of Pleasurable Seductions says that she can’t wait to return to in-person trade shows and plans on attending one as soon as it is possible.
“Trade shows allow us to put the faces behind the products, which is so much more personable and pleasant,” she said. “Creating lasting business relationships and establishing positive interactions with other companies is what my team and I miss. As soon as the green light is given, Pleasurable Seductions is there.”
In addition to her role as an adult store owner, Tomaria M. also is a professional dominatrix known as Goddess Rue who works closely with fellow dominatrixes Mistress Marley and Bria BadAzz. Together, the trio has traveled statewide to provide sexual wellness awareness and teach kink classes.
“We believe as long as proper PPE is worn and guidelines set in place by the CDC to prevent to spread of COVID-19 are followed, it is safe to travel and have in-person events,” she said. “However, until COVID-19 has diminished ... life will never be as we remember.”
As more people get vaccinated, the possibility for the return of a “normal” in-person trade event grows — albeit with safety precautions.
“I would say it is safe to return to [trade shows] after everyone has been able to be vaccinated, if they choose to do so,” said Loretta Goodling, the buyer for Excitement Adult Stores. “I am hoping shows won’t be that much different except for the necessary COVID measures.”
Deja Vu Love Boutique director of purchasing Megan Swartz also is hoping that the good old days of trade shows will be back once again, but adds, “I want to make sure we can all do so safely and hopefully the majority will have been vaccinated.”
There’s no doubt that trade shows, like any other place of gathering nowadays, will have restrictions.
I think people were able to see how invaluable person-to-person sales can be,” Voodoo Toys’ Danielle Seerley said. “Virtual is a great option, but it will never replace a warm hug or friendly handshake. I think people will take their time at the shows a lot more seriously as well — I know I will. We love each other, and physically gathering as a community is important to everyone.”
Though noting that she misses in-person interactions with colleagues, Uberlube’s Cheryl Sloane expressed appreciation for the productivity that’s possible through doing business online.
“I do appreciate the ease of meeting in a less pressured environment,” she said. “The one-to-one attention is really nice, and I feel like we have all learned a little bit more about each other. I don’t think anything will ever be like we remembered but I am looking forward to in-person trade shows and, depending on the COVID statistics, think we will begin attending a few in the fall of 2021.”
With eroFame planned for early November, some brands are gearing up to make their return to expo participation by the year’s end. Nevertheless, several execs say they’re more likely to wait until January to attend an in-person trade event.
Satisfyer’s Ian Kulp says that it is best for event organizers and participants to wait until next year to return in order to allow for the “safest health preparedness across our communities and partners.” “We anticipate Q1 (’22) to mark the milestone for initial activations commencing with the annual January show circuit,” Kulp said.
“We expect to see these events slightly differently and with a more blended experience, hosting both ‘live’/in-person segmentation and virtual segmentation for non-attendees — making room for a full-spectrum experience tied in with the same feeling.”
Lovely Planet’s Anne Meunier says that the company’s plan is to participate in the eroFame on condition of being vaccinated. She believes that January will most likely be when the brand returns to a physical trade show. “We are planning massive product launches from October to December for these shows to be the most successful,” she said.
Kheper Games’ Brian Pellham says that he questions whether eroFame will actually take place this year, and also predicts January is the soonest that in-person events will be held.
“Vaccinations in the E.U. are not moving as swiftly as ours [in the U.S.],” Pellham said. “I feel that it will take a few years for everyone to truly be comfortable having social events at trade shows again.”
Orion Wholesale’s Björn Radcke says that it will take COVID immunization, tests and well-thought-out hygiene measures in order for in-person events to successfully take place. Additionally, Radcke made note of what he thinks will be different for upcoming shows.
“In my opinion, such events will certainly be a bit more ‘leisurely’ in the future; by that I mean less parties, etc.,” he said. “Furthermore, there will certainly continue to be additional virtual events and trade shows.”
Viben Toys’ Char Lopez, who says that the past year of isolation made her especially value human contact, is ready to return to events when vaccination rates are higher and with safety precautions in place. She also thinks that future gatherings will be smaller and feature fewer group outings and dinners. “Everything that would put us at risk,” Lopez says, will be avoided.
“I do believe that if we are all safe and are responsible, the first in-person show will be a hit and a much-needed interaction for all of us,” she said.
Kimberly Scott Faubel from COTR, Inc., says that she hopes that events are not like attendees remember them, and that people have learned to take better care of themselves.
“If people are under the weather, I hope they will not fall victim to hustle culture and, instead, keep themselves at home,” she said. “I would love to see crowds maintain space more than we did pre-pandemic and I hope we continue to practice good hand hygiene. I also think it will be an opportunity to give and receive consent for physical greetings, and overall better cleaning practices in our trade show booths, particularly when it comes to testers.”
The Future of Retail
Retail stores of all kinds nowadays must comply with state-mandated regulations for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. Masks, social distancing and sanitizing are now the norm. However, can we expect it to stay this way forever?
Svakom’s Alexandro Feynerol believes that the changes sparked by COVID-19 are temporary and that shoppers are destined to return in search of the experience and expertise that adult retailers offer.
“The temporary changes of testers on the floor that for now have been removed and the mandatory use of masks and sanitizers will go away with the disappearing of the pandemic,” he said.
Even with the inconvenience of having to close dressing rooms or remove testers, and wearing masks, brick-and-mortar retailers say that shoppers are still eager to step inside.
“The pandemic has not negatively impacted any store experiences in my honest opinion,” Excitement Adult Stores’ Loretta Goodling said. “More customers want to come inside and shop and most [of them] like the extra precautions we put in place such as the hand sanitizer stands at all entrances. We also recently put testers back out on the floor and those are cleaned and sanitized daily.”
With touching and feeling being essential to the sex toy shopping process, product testers have often played a key role in selling pleasure products. Rather than removing them from their sales floor altogether, retailers are coming up with alternative solutions.
“Tester policies, I think, are the most impactful and biggest change in the physical store experience,” Viben Toys’ Char Lopez said. “Some stores already utilize a ‘tester behind the counter’ policy, and I know that many more have adopted this new rule. I'm sure business owners will decide if this is a permanent rule going forward based off sales, business and feedback.”
Hot Octopuss VP April Lampert noted that the pandemic’s impact on the in-store experience is somewhat bittersweet.
“From staff to customers, there are more restrictions on the number of people allowed have a positive impact because it gives the customer a more personalized experience and staff the ability to spend more time with an individual, but this could also have an adverse effect on sales, forcing retailers to be more strategic about who they staff and when to ensure the best customer experience and service,” she said. “Overall, I think the pandemic created a lot of challenges for physical stores to create a pleasant retail shopping experience.”
Without testers to try out, customers are sometimes spending less time in retail stores. However, that’s not always necessarily a bad thing. Kheper Games’ Brian Pellham says he’s noticed that customers are now shopping with a purpose. “Not as much lingering around or touching or exploring products physically,” he said.
Similarly, Adrien Lastic USA’s Jackie Richerson notes that although product testers have been an issue, the pandemic has also led to retailers becoming more creative with engaging customers in other ways.
“There have been shifts from doing workshops in-store to online, which I think is a great idea and allows for more accessibility for the valuable community outreach these events provide,” Richerson said.
Online retailers also are aiming to be more engaged with customers. Zinful Pleasures’ Zindzhi Adrian Sloan said that she expects her team to continue in a hybrid fashion. “With about 70-80 percent of business being handled virtually while we prepare to resume in-person events, [and] business travel and in-home parties later in the year as our social environments become safer in the future,” Sloan said.
“Trainings through virtual means have been quite efficient and easy to schedule since the pandemic, so it is anticipated that much of that will continue for a little while longer,” she continued. “There is just something about personal connections and physical interactions that the virtual sphere just cannot authentically replicate. Our new normal will look different and I believe that many of the safety precautions like spacing, sanitizing stations, and mask wearing will remain for the time being, but I think the connections we make will continue to be as genuine as we once remembered.”
Wild Flower engages customers online through a variety of content such as videos, blogs and social media posts. “We try to provide as much information as possible and help our customers feel confident in the items they’re purchasing,” Wild Flower’s Amy Boyajian said. “As sex toys are such a tactile product category, we try to produce video content to give our customers an idea of how a toy moves and reacts to your body. While it doesn’t necessarily replicate all of the value of an in-person shopping experience, we think many customers prefer it for convenience’s sake.”
As the pandemic drove shoppers to make their purchases online, many may have discovered that they prefer how easy it is to do their shopping from home.
“I think that there will continue to be a strong shift to online shopping,” Orion Wholesales’ Björn Radcke said. “Nevertheless, we sell emotions and very special products — a well-organized specialist retail store will also be able to take its place here in the future.”
Production Challenges
Throughout the past year of the pandemic, as business travel came to a halt and production became stalled due to COVID’s impact on the workplace, development for some manufacturers was affected.
“It slows it down by not being allowed to travel and be present during certain parts of the process,” Passionate Playground’s Deborah Semer said. “I have done development without travel and it's taken twice as long.”
Lovely Planet’s Anne Meunier said that the pandemic slowed the pace of planned launches as certain product components or ingredients became unavailable. “But in 2021, our product development teams and our partners are mobilized to launch around 20 new products and there is no longer any supply problem,” she said. “On the other hand, costs have risen sharply at all levels: production, transport.”
Viben’s Char Lopez said that missing out on trips to China caused delays for the company’s development process.
“We have strict requirements for our partners and now have moved to Skype conferences and meetings to ensure the quality of our items,” she said. “Lots of late nights and early mornings to accommodate the time difference and workloads. Everyone has been extremely helpful and flexible so that we can keep our product development schedule on track.”
With operations mostly maintained in-house, ElectraStim marketing and communications manager Claire Blakeborough said that COVID’s impact on product development was minimal.
“There has been the odd delay with sourcing raw materials or liaising with development partners who are working from home, but nothing too serious,” she said. “Certainly nothing that’s slowed us down.”
Sohimi’s Jeff Chen said that the biggest challenge has been the slowdown in factory production due to the lack of manpower.
“The difficulty lies in the fact that many factory workers have left their jobs because they are worried about being infected in the pandemic, so our overall progress has been slowed down,” he said. “Fortunately, with the automation of the machines and the stocking of last year, it is not a big delay.”
Other manufacturers agree that the obstacles have been manageable — and in some cases, have not affected product development at all.
“As we've always developed our products remotely, it hasn't changed it for us,” Autoblow’s Brian Sloan said. “We actually went through one full product development cycle during COVID with people working in the U.S., Romania and China. The only obstacle we faced is that cross-border shipping for samples, prototypes and components slowed down our process more than usual.”
Kheper Games’ Brian Pellham said that the pandemic has provided him with more time to work on new products, particularly since the company has not had to travel for trade shows.
“[Sales exec] Cathy Ziegler has been great at doing our virtual shows, so I have been able to work on new products just about every day,” he said.
Still Booming
With so much media hype surrounding the sales boom of the pleasure products market, new adult retail customers continued pouring into stores — both online and brick-and-mortars.
“I hope the sales boom continues in the adult retail industry; it’s great for us, our staff and the consumers,” Excitement Adult Stores’ Loretta Goodling said. “We have been given an opportunity to rise to the occasion and be there for our customers and communities during such a difficult time. I believe we will see those new faces return to our stores.”
According to Goodling, Excitement is growing so much that the company is planning to remodel more stores in the future and also opened a new smoke shop in King of Prussia, Pa. this year.
Similarly, Tomaria M. of Pleasurable Seductions said that during the pandemic, the company was able to establish and strengthen its relationship with customers.
“The pandemic has truly given us a financial catapult and it’s been rising since,” she said. “I couldn’t be any happier and this is only the beginning.”
The biggest benefit of the pandemic was the opportunity for people to re-prioritize and discover the importance of sexual wellness and pleasure, which ultimately contributed to the growth of the industry.
“What have we seen? People are putting self-care a lot higher on their lists than they used to — and I sure hope we continue to make ourselves, and our pleasure, a priority,” COTR’s Kimberly Scott Faubel said.
Wild Flower’s Amy Boyajian also praised the increased awareness surrounding sexual wellness and pleasure that was sparked during the pandemic.
“While the pandemic certainly caused a sales boom in the industry, more importantly we believe it gave many people who hadn’t taken the time to explore sex toys an opportunity to do so,” Boyajian said. “As a result, we believe that the overall customer base of sex toy users has grown, and that growth will translate to a long-term sustained increase in sales.”
Deja Vu Love Boutique’s Megan Swartz also believes that the pandemic served as an introduction to pleasure products for many.
“I think we are seeing new customers since the pandemic and I assume once those customers have gotten their feet wet with our products they will continue to explore as most do,” she said.
Satisfyer’s Megwyn White also believes that new sex toy users will return to purchase more goods.
“We have noticed that people are taking especially good care of their sexual health and wellness as a direct result of simply being home more,” White said. “We believe that people have become accustomed to such high levels of self care, and that will not change post-pandemic.”
Voodoo Toys’ Danielle Seerley predicts that the sales boom will continue, although with some shifting away from online sales.
“I anticipate brick-and-mortar sales in particular to remain strong for some time, and online sales averaging out as more physical locations continue to open, or adjust back to normal (in regards to things like store hours, testers etc.),” she said.
Consumers may look back at this unprecedented time in their life and appreciate their pleasure products even more, says Duke from Duke’s Dolls. “I definitely feel as long as you have a happy satisfied customer, they will always come back — especially because of the fact that our products helped them get through one of the most desperate and dire situations of our lifetime.”
Other manufacturers are more realistic, encouraging others in the biz to make the most of the sales boom before it dissolves.
“I really hate to be the one to say it, but I don’t believe this will be lasting,” Adrien Lastic USA’s Jackie Richerson said. “Certainly, for the remainder of this crisis time, we’ll see these elevated sales but this feels very much like the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ boom in which things will begin to even out as time goes by.”
Richerson still remains hopeful, however. “I’d love to see this new excitement last as long as it can because that means so many more people are out there exploring their sexuality, which is really what this is all about at the end of the day for us.”
Only time will tell how long the effects of the pandemic — good and bad — will last. Nevertheless, the adult retail industry’s prompt response with versatility and resourcefulness over the past year has served to boost adult businesses’ ability to overcome any future challenges.
