MINNEAPOLIS - After the terrorist strikes of Sept. 11, 2001, shocked the world, retailers of adult products reported an upswing in sales of "bedroom aids." That didn't surprise marriage and family therapists, sexuality counselors or sex workers, who believe that in hard times people naturally gravitate toward intimate pleasure as a coping mechanism.
Now, with the economy taking a full-fledged nose-dive, sex-toy retailers are reporting revenue increases of from 7 to 13 percent, both in the brick-and-mortar realm and online.
The trend seems to be worldwide, but it also seems to be limited to novelties. Sellers of adult videos both online and offline have reported sales decreases of as much as 50 percent during the past year - mostly due to a glut of material on the market and content piracy - but the trend in sex toys seems to be going the other way.
Consumers "don't feel like they're getting a bit of smut," Robyn Goodman, chief of American operations for British retail chain and website Myla, told the New York Times. "They feel like they are acquiring a very boudoir-style, high-end luxury."
Goodman said some of Myla's customers shamelessly have parted with as much as $250 for a particularly kinky toy, despite a reversal of their personal fortunes.
Both Jennifer Pritchett of Smitten Kitten and Colleen Bertino of Fantasy Gifts - two local Minneapolis adult boutiques - said their sales were up, as well: Pritchett's rose by 13 percent and Bertino's by 7 percent, both in the final quarter of 2008.
"People are staying in more, and they're thinking that maybe they should be getting better at what they're doing," Bertino told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
"Sex is good for you, and I think that newly refocused energy devoted to personal health and relationships has accounted for our success in the last few months," Pritchett added.
"The Dow may have taken a nose dive, but our sales have only increased," Josie Morales, a partner in nine-month-old e-tailer Their Toys, told the New York Times. The site's revenues have increased by about 10 percent since launch, she added.
Analena Graham, owner of luxury adult boutique Dascha, told the Times, "Sex will always sell. You might tell yourself, ‘I can do without that $400 sweater, but I would still like to have that rechargeable vibrator.'"
Added Babeland co-founder Claire Cavanah, "When your world is lurching sideways, it's good to go home to a nice bed - and a little intimacy."
