As the pandemic causes continued social distancing and lockdown implementations, online sellers recorded sales surge.
Now that people are left with no choice but to stay at home in order to protect themselves from the fatal coronavirus, sex toys are spiking up in sales as expected.
Adam and Eve, a company that has franchised locations across North America as well as an online store, said that there had been a 30 percent increase in the sales online for the months of March and April. They compared this year’s sales during the same time period last year in order to find out how much increase they had.
Other big companies that sell their products online have seen a surge as well. For instance, Wow Tech Group, the company that owns We-Vibe and Womanizer said that online sales for both brands increased by 200 percent in the month of April compared to last year.
As reported by Vice in April, online sales for products through Cotr Inc, the company that owns B-Vibe, Cowgirl, and Le Wand were approximately three times higher compared to the sales last year. Cotr Inc’s chief executive Alicia Sinclair said that the numbers are continuously spiking up. In fact, the sales last April surpassed March’s sales by 80 percent.
This increase might be brought about by boredom caused by quarantine.
Other Sex Toy Shops Do Not Thrive Compared to Online Shops
While big and corporate sex toy companies seem to be thriving, the same cannot be said when it comes to brick and mortar sex shops. Consumers are rushing to buy sex toys from websites online. For this reason, sex toy shops and businesses that usually rely on foot traffic, as well as interpersonal connections with their customers, are no suffering.
37-year-old Sid Azmi is the owner of Pleas, a Brookly-based store that has been operating for more or less six years. She explained that despite having an accompanying online shop for her store, she cannot compete with bigger and more popular online retailers.
Azmi also noted that small businesses usually charge more for sex toys. This is because they do not get bulk buying discounts from their suppliers. In addition, small businesses cannot afford to have huge sales on their items. Still, customers are usually willing to pay more according to Azmi. This is because stores like Please have friendly services and are educated about the products that they sell.
The sex toy shop owner also emphasized that the reason why people choose to buy in physical stores instead of buying from Amazon or other bigger sex shops is that they offer in-house education, conversations, as well as recommendations. She added that the one on one personable service they offer is something that cannot be promoted through online sales.
Another sex shop that is seeing financial strain is Shag. It is a store that offers a collection of body-safe sex toys located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn since 2009. Samantha Bard, 45 years old, is one of the store’s owners. According to her, while online sex stores have seen a surge in sales within the past two months, the sales of their store is far less than the usual if the brick-and-mortar shop is still in operation.
As a result of physical stores losing a significant amount of sales, store owners tried different strategies that would help them succeed online. They have begun selling face masks that are made locally. In addition, they have also revamped their online store and added additional products to it. The stores have integrated with Amazon in order to help potential customers find their products online.
According to Bard, they are hoping for the steps they took to generate some individuals to come back after making their very first Amazon purchase. If this happens, Bard is thinking that people will come back to their web store outside Amazon and purchase through them.
New York-based Established Chains are Also Suffering
Apart from single-location sex shops, New York-based established chains are also suffering. Babeland’s representative Lisa Finn noted that although online sales are higher, it is not enough to cover up the amount that stores can usually make physically. Notably, Babeland is a chain that has four locations, three of which are in New York.
Romantic Depot CEO Glen Buzzetti, a company that shifted to online selling only that offers same-day delivery. According to Buzzetti, sales that come from the website have spiked up significantly. In fact, online sales during Mark and April were approximately 12 times higher compared to last year’s sales.
However, this surge does not compare to how much the business sales on physical stores. The aforementioned company is popular for its massive and depot-style location. Buzzetti added that online sales are not enough to make a difference where it is going to be able to pay their rents. He said that their bills are higher than their profit.
Sex shops located in other cities with easing restrictions, further than New York are still struggling in adapting to new business models that are mostly online.
In Houston, Darling Way was able to open its stores again last May 1. However, its owner and founder Beth Liebling, 54, noted that the store is more silent than it has ever been ever since it was founded four years ago. The sales of the store in May 2020 were 70 percent lower than what the owner projected last January. This is because people are not out and about than they were before the pandemic. In addition, they are also not in a big-spending mood.
Pink Bunny’s owner Serene Martinez, on the other hand, saw a generally positive experience. The store, which is located in San Francisco, cannot open its physical store due to the pandemic. However, Martinez caters to customers via one-on-one Zoom calls. She acts as a personal shopper, which allows her to connect to her customers in a much better way.
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