Is Your Retail Business Sextech Ready
The reality, however, is that contemporary consumers — especially younger shoppers — are incredibly excited about all these new developments and can’t wait to incorporate them into their sex lives. So if you don’t get on board with selling the latest sextech, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
Hosting in-store events and sextech workshops is a great way for retailers to normalize conversations around the category.
Interactive products: The demand is there
While interactive products can be exciting for anyone, they hold particular significance for long-distance couples. With long-distance relationships becoming increasingly common and normalized, sextech and app-enabled sex toys play a significant role in helping people to keep the spark alive even when they are miles apart. Interactive technology allows partners to bring each other to orgasm from anywhere in the world, or sync devices to experience the same frequencies and pleasure in real time while messaging, on a call or during a video chat.
While these products are beneficial for monogamous couples, interactive sextech is also ideal for other demographics that most likely are already shopping at your store. As stigmas continue to diminish, polyamorous lifestyles are becoming more popular and widely accepted. Some brands allow for synchronization between multiple devices, enabling more than two partners to experience climax at the same time. This benefits those attending poly-friendly play parties.
Meanwhile, for couples looking to explore BDSM, remote-controlled toys are ideal for public play and power exchange. Such toys have also become important for webcam performers, who often allow fans to control compatible toys in return for additional tips. A one-time investment by a webcam performer can yield profits for years to come, making it well worth the price.
Feel what you see
Features that link to interactive porn videos are quickly gaining popularity among solo users. Interactive porn, which few even knew existed just a few years ago, is now among the top 10 categories on Pornhub — and demand is expected to grow. VR porn is also more popular than ever, with a growing number of production companies creating it. Among men in the U.S. who own a VR headset, approximately one in three watches VR porn at least once per week.
Toys geared to sync up with interactive and VR media enable users to have a more immersive experience and enjoy encounters with their favorite porn stars. They also help monogamous couples explore fantasies together without altering their relationship by involving additional real-life partners.
The importance of cementing yourself as an authority
Today’s adult retail customers have high expectations. When they come into a store, they want to engage in a conversation with a knowledgeable salesperson who can introduce them to new ways of interacting, connecting and enhancing intimacy during both solo and partnered play. Even if customers aren’t looking for interactive products, they can still be sold as premium vibrators or masturbators, with assurances that interactive features don’t need to be used every time.
Train your staff to present this technology in an accessible and engaging way, and never miss an opportunity to invite a sextech brand representative to conduct in-person or virtual training. Training sessions can be followed by sales incentives, such as a SPIFF, or by an online quiz that helps your team refresh and test their product knowledge.
For the brand, this is a key element for a successful product launch. For your store, it will help prepare sales staff to ask your customers the right questions about their needs and desires, and to demonstrate how these toys can seamlessly integrate into their erotic lives. After all, those are our main responsibilities as sexual wellness professionals.
Create educational blog posts that make the latest sextech innovations more approachable. You can also reach out to manufacturers for ready-to-publish content or ideas.
If you're selling online, request banners, email blasts and other digital assets to introduce sextech to your audience. For brick-and-mortar stores, designate a dedicated section for sextech and Bluetooth-enabled toys. A single interactive toy can easily get lost on a wall filled with traditional devices, so this kind of focused display makes a difference.
At Kiiroo, we include QR codes on shelf displays to help customers easily navigate the world of interactive pleasure. Having testers and displays is an essential part of your point-of-sale strategy. In today’s economy, where consumer confidence is fragile, customers want transparency — no one wants to spend hundreds of dollars on a mystery box.
A tester allows your customers to fall in love with the product at first touch — just be sure it’s charged! For a trained salesperson with a tester at hand, the entire sale shouldn’t take more than five minutes. Simply highlight the interactive features, focus on the one that matches the customer’s interest and show them how it works, including by demonstrating connectivity with interactive adult content if applicable.
Building a community around your store is a proven method to generate loyalty and repeat business. Hosting in-store events and sextech workshops is a great way for retailers to normalize conversations around the category, showcase new tech and ultimately increase sales and customer engagement.
Technology is permeating every aspect of our lives, and sexual wellness is no exception. Staying current with the latest tech won’t just keep you better informed; it will also keep your consumers educated, which translates to customer loyalty. The future of sex toys is bright — and it’s powered by sextech. Retailers who embrace it now will be the ones profiting tomorrow.
Kate Kozlova is the U.S. Sales Manager for Kiiroo and a seasoned sex educator, known as InBedWithKate on YouTube. With over a decade of experience in adult retail and manufacturing, she is a certified device specialist and a public information sexologist (certified by the American Board of Sexology).
