Mainstream retailers count on Christmas, but for adult novelty retailers, it's Valentine's Day that drives their sales cycle. Not only does February 14 play directly in the novelty industry's core focus-love, romance, and sex!-but it also plays up this focus in the mainstream media; exposing the general public to the delights of adult toys.
"It's a holiday based around romance, love, couples and therefore people are looking for a gift centered around that as well," says Coyote Days, senior buyer for Good Vibrations. "This is not the holiday where you'd give somebody a scarf or socks. It's a chance to show your affections and to show your passion. Because of that, people come to Good Vibrations seeking products that support and enhance their sex lives. It's also a great time to explore sensuality and look for unique items."
"It's a great time for us to get folks who are curious and might not come in at other times of year," says Pamela Doan, who manages public relations for Babeland. "When you're tired of giving lingerie and chocolates, you can set up a pretty memorable night after a visit to our store. Pick up something like our ‘Come Together' kit and you've got some really great couples' vibrators to experiment with! It is also a time of the year when we tend to sell ‘softer' goods like massage oils and a lot of our Babeland Body line."
As for Valentine's Day's impact on their bottom lines? "15-20 percent of our annual sales come in during time between NewYear's and V-day." says Babeland's Doan. "Valentine's Day is our busiest time of the year and we do quite a bit of business leading up to the fourteenth," says Good Vibrations' Days. "I don't know exact numbers but I do know that on Valentine's Day we have a line of customers weaving around the store all day!"
For adult novelty retailers to better profit from Valentine's Day, they need to know who their clientele are for this ‘most wonderful time of the year'. At Babeland, "We get more men buying for their partners, couples buying together (i.e. they make a date of it), and women buying toys for male partners (like the Sonic Ring kit)," say Doan. "The rest of the year, it's predominantly women buying toys for selves or to share with partners."
Over at Good Vibrations, most of the V-day traffic are repeat customers. Still, such is the draw of the occasion, that the chain also sees lots of "new people coming in," Days says. "We have a wide range of customers-straight, gay, bi, women, men, couples. Anybody looking for the perfect gift for their date comes to Good Vibrations!"
With the clientele defined, the next thing to know is what they want to buy. "Kits sell better at this time than [during the] rest of the year," confides Pamela Doan. "We group toys based on a theme (couples' toys, g-spot exploration, BDSM, etc), and we gift-wrap them and put them on sale, so they're really ‘grab and go'." Among these kits are Babeland's Sex and Chocolate Lover's Kit with a Babeland Bliss candy bar, Chocolate Lover's Dice, Shunga Body Paint and a couple of vibrators; and its Pink Kink kit with a pink blindfold, cuffs and a small flogger. "Sensuals sell better for folks uncertain whether they want to commit to a more explicit toy," she notes.
"We find that our premium and luxury items do very well at Valentine's Day," says Coyote Days. "It's not about the small stocking stuffers for this holiday but rather about that one quality sexy item that will guarantee not only a good night but many good nights to come! We also see people buying more extravagant items-positioning furniture, larger items as well as items from our BDSM section. It's a great time to splurge."
Okay; so we know that Valentine's Day brings new customers into adult novelty stores, and these customers are willing to spend good money on profitable kits. So how can adult novelty retailers boost sales to these customers, to get them excited about February 14?
"Our entire store display and merchandising is focused on Valentine's Day," replies Good Vibrations' Days. "We have a huge holiday party on Valentine's Day and will have promotions as well. It's a great time of year for these events and people are into going out of dates, love and having sex."
"We are running a Sexy Getaway Contest, the winner of which wins a two-night stay at a local luxury hotel," says Doan. "We have 4-5 Valentine's kits that are featured in all stores and on the web...We host Valentine specific events, such as our Sexy Love Letter Writing workshop and Flirt Nights. Our stores are decorated with our pink and blue branded colors, and appropriate signage from our Arouse Your Curiosity campaign."
Of course, the Valentine's Day sales season ends on February 14. For adult novelty retailers, the real challenge is to keep non-traditional V-day customers coming back to their stores after Valentine's Day, in order to boost sales all year ‘round.
At Good Vibrations, their strategy is wow new customers not just with a wide range of products, but personal service that makes these newbies comfortable in coming back regularly. "Our SESAs (Sex Educator Sales Associate) are trained not only on our products but on anatomy, sexual response and sexual health as well," explains Days. "This extra training we offer allows them to provide the highest quality of customer service. We also offer After Hours classes, have in-store promotions, parties and product launches that bring people in...We have new products and store events all year long which bring them back in. We also have a wide selection of items that people need all year long-condoms and lubricants-which bring them back."
Over at Babeland, "We encourage folks to sign up for our mailing list and then we send them a follow up catalog with a buying incentive," Doan says. "And of course, when they come into our stores initially, they get such great customer service that we anticipate they'll want to return. For many newbies, just crossing the threshold, and seeing how inviting and non-threatening the store really is, gives them the permission to let go and try a few things."
