It’s time for a look at the future: distributors are gearing up for the New Year with predictions for new product categories, the new “Fifty Shades” film release, and both vendor and consumer expectations. With 2017 just a breath away, these companies also are offering their opinions on the evolution of adult store shopping and the use of technology to best serve their customers.
At California-based Holiday Products, vice president Ken Sahn predicts the product category of sexual wellness will continue to gain in popularity. “That phrase takes pleasure products such as sex toys, lubes and enhancers mainstream. Anal toys for him continue to grow in popularity, and I don’t see that slowing down any time soon.”
That phrase [sexual wellness] takes pleasure products such as sex toys, lubes and enhancers mainstream. —Ken Sahn, Holiday Products
Sahn doesn’t expect BDSM products to surge with the release of the new film “Fifty Shades Darker.” He notes, “In my opinion, the movies are made for the fans of the books, and those folks already got the information and had their curiosity piqued when they read the series a few years ago. Unless the new movie features an item prominently, and the product is unique and gets enough screen time for fans to be able to recognize it on sight, I don’t see ‘Darker’ creating any great demands from the buying public.”
As to the evolution of adult store shopping, according to Sahn, “Modern stores know that education is a key component to getting consumers into their establishments. It seems like the brick and mortars experiencing continual success are the ones that have knowledgeable staff that can keep their customers informed about product usage and materials.”
To best serve their clientele, the Holiday Products team is looking forward to “continuing our style of service, which is a combination of superior personalized customer service, excellent product knowledge, and our ability to identify and keep up with the trends. We are excited that manufacturers are recognizing the importance of testers, and we’re great at furnishing our customers with the supplies they need to successfully add new products to their stores.”
Where technology is concerned, Sahn predicts more success ahead. “Continuous improvement in our infrastructure has raised our fill rate to about 95 percent and provides even faster shipping. And, these improvements have drastically increased our drop-ship capabilities. Along with our dynamic website and ordering capabilities, this provides our customers with an excellent buying experience from start to finish.”
At Colorado-based Eldorado, CEO Larry Garland offers his predictions for the New Year.
“Eldorado has already started to see growth in the male product category, more specifically male products for the straight market. Additionally, couples toys, bondage, realistic dongs and virtual reality products will continue to grow,” Garland said.
Unlike Holiday Products, Eldorado expects hearty sales in BDSM products due to the release of “Fifty Shades Darker.”
“Since the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy was published in 2011 and the first movie released in 2015, more kinky sexual practices have become more popular,” Garland said. “The ‘Fifty Shades’ franchise has encouraged more and more people to experiment with BDSM, and inspired couples to invite floggers, blindfolds, handcuffs and other toys into the bedroom. It appears bondage has arrived in the mainstream, and with the release of ‘Fifty Shades Darker,’ it will likely be a reminder to couples to experiment some more by picking up some BDSM products. This category shows no signs of slowing down.”
Garland says vendors and consumers can continue to expect Eldorado to reach for success in all categories and “promote our value-added services that make us stand out as a leading distributor in the industry. We are proud of our service excellence, same-day shipping, product knowledge, and state-of the art distribution shipping facility. He adds that the company will continue to invest in these areas and that “Eldorado will continue to cultivate its partnerships for growth with both its vendors and customers in the New Year. We plan to further our focus on the importance of education for retailers to meet consumers’ needs and are excited to launch Elevate U, an e-learning sexual health certification series in early 2017. Also, we will be advancing our partnerships with vendors for greater market intelligence to pass on to our customers.”
The company sees adult stores as moving toward a higher-end, couples-friendly and all-around consumer-friendly look and feel. “Stores have begun to create a more welcoming environment for customers from all backgrounds and demographics. We’ve also seen stores put more focus on education for both product knowledge and sexual health.”
To continue to serve customers, Garland says, “We look to set the standard in customer service through our bilingual sales staff, and at the continued importance on education for our sales team and customers. Our sales team has and will continue to have weekly product trainings so they can give their customers the most up-to-date information when it comes to product features and hot new items on the market. In 2017, with the launch of Elevate U, Eldorado customers will be able to get the pertinent sexual health education to better serve their customers in-store when they’re buying pleasure-focused products.” Last but not least, Garland makes note that “another great value we offer our customers is same-day shipping. If an order is received by 1 p.m., MST, it is guaranteed to ship out the same day, so customers can stock their stores quicker.”
When it comes to technology, he says, “We will put greater emphasis on Eldorado’s Store Extender program, a great online e-commerce platform that makes setting up and managing an online store simple. Eldorado is also focusing greater attention on identifying market trends to better serve customers and vendors. And, we’ll continue to improve our smart warehouse to provide customers with efficient and accurate shipping.”
Eldorado says it is proud to note that they currently have 99.967 percent shipping accuracy. “Our goal is to reach 99.99 percent in 2017.”
Anthony Pingicer, marketing director for IVD|ECN believes the product categories that will grow the most will be those that cater to couples, as well as “products that don’t scream ‘sex toy’ like phallic vibes and dildos. Exploring your sexual desires and wellness is no longer as taboo as it once was. Sexual-wellness products are becoming more mainstream, and can now be found in stores like CVS, Target and Walmart. So any product that isn’t overtly phallic in nature will probably see a rise in sales in the coming year.”
Pingicer expects the release of “Fifty Shades Darker” to increase sales and popularity of BDSM products. “I do not think it will be as significant as it was in early 2015 with the release of the first movie, but the demand will come back for sure, just not as strong.”
He says ECN is excited for the New Year. “We have a lot of plans in the works to make sure we put our customers first, while not forgetting our trusted vendor partners.”
Scott H. Dantis, director of sales and marketing for the New Jersey-based Williams Trading Co. provides his predictions for 2017 product growth.
“With the release of the Womanizer lower-priced $99 clitoral suction vibrators, we see this category expanding. The new Satisfyer range will rapidly grow with retail price points from $39.99 to $99 addressing the entry-level products featured in this category. We also are offering a new Air Touch Cloud 9 Novelties clitoral suction vibe in two versions with a $79 retail price point. We see dual clitoral stimulation vibrators as a new emerging category.”
To Dantis, the “Fifty Shades Darker” release should provide strong sales. “The new ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ product line is perfectly positioned. We also expect that the new Sportsheets Midnight Collection product line and Pipedream’s Fetish Fantasy lines will do very well during this period.”
He says vendors and/or consumers can expect a 2017 focus on the enhanced service levels that are a foundation of Williams Trading’s business. “We constantly survey our dealer base to determine areas of improvement. We have invested heavily in software enhancements for our ordering process. We are expanding our Williams Trading e-learning program, and will continue to offer our WTU store builder e-commerce program.”
When it comes to the adult store shopping revolution, Dantis discusses Williams Trading’s focus on education. “We’re offering expanded Williams Trading University courses with e-learning. Consumers today expect that sales associates understand and can recommend the correct product to fill each individual consumer’s need. The retail industry is undergoing a dramatic shift: in-store foot traffic is down, online research is up, and smart phones are becoming increasingly important to the consumer’s in-store shopping journey,” he explains. “Known as reverse-showrooming, adult retailers report their customers are increasingly researching their in-store purchase online before and after they arrive.”
To better serve their clientele in 2017, Dantis discusses the support that Williams Trading will continue to provide. The company has two cornerstone programs: Williams Trading University e-learning, available 24/7 with an expanded e-learning program is one. “We are the only distributor offering a free online e-learning program which can be used as the ideal training tool for store associates. To date we have certified over 45,000 store associates at the retail level with this tool,” he says.
The other key program the company offers is the WTU Store Builder. “Store Builder provides a free online e-commerce platform to compete with Amazon.”
And when it comes to technology, Dantis asserts that technology and speed to market with information is essential in today’s competitive marketplace. “Our goal is to provide the fastest platform for new releases and retail training at the fingertips of our customers. We were the first distributor to use a Digital Flip Snack Catalog for new releases of products. This format allows our sales reps to send a simple link to all customers to review new product assortments.”
Williams Trading Company also updates new items every week with a digital version for every customer. The link is viewable at http://www.flipsnack.com/9ECB798F8D6/.
“Our WTU program is a 24/7 e-learning program that is hosted on LMS fully compatible with iPad, iPhones, PC and Android phones or tablets. This technology allows any adult retailer’s store associates to be trained on new products at any time without having to schedule meetings. Basically you have a learning program at the fingertips of your store employees,” he relates. The technology is the same technology used by Best Buy for its Blue Shirt store associates and Walmart.
All in all, between continued and enhanced technology, product predictions, and shopping experiences, distributors offer a bright picture for New Year sales.
