Feature Articles
Why Retailers Need a Clearer Conversation About Margins
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Why Retailers Need a Clearer Conversation About Margins
With rising manufacturing costs and living expenses, manufacturers’ suggested retail price (MSRP) no longer aligns with the actual costs of operating a business. This situation calls for a discussion about the current industry pricing landscape, potential adjustments, and how companies can make an impact.
How Local Payments Can Expand Access and Reduce Friction at Checkout
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How Local Payments Can Expand Access and Reduce Friction at Checkout
Global adult platforms often enter new markets with a familiar assumption: If their checkout accepts major cards, they're ready for local customers. In reality, payment habits vary widely by country. Dutch consumers use iDEAL for online shopping, BLIK is a leading e-commerce payment method in Poland, and India's UPI handles billions of transactions each month.
A Look Inside CC Wellness' Production Process
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A Look Inside CC Wellness' Production Process
Stepping through the front doors of CC Wellness’ 215,000-square-foot headquarters, you first encounter the lubricant manufacturer’s comprehensive process in the company’s wall of plaques, which celebrate more than 25 formulas that have received FDA 510(k) clearances for medical devices.
A Look at the Growing Market for Pleasure-Enhancing Consumables
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A Look at the Growing Market for Pleasure-Enhancing Consumables
For decades, the sexual enhancement aisle consisted mainly of pills promising stamina, with bottles and blister packs leaning heavily into themes of masculinity, urgency and performance. The sales pitch was rarely subtle: Take this, and something bigger, harder, longer or more intense would follow.
Why Adult Retailers Need Better Training on Disability, Chronic Health
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Why Adult Retailers Need Better Training on Disability, Chronic Health
Every customer who walks into an adult store brings a different body, comfort level and set of needs. Retail staff already know how to ask the basics: Do you prefer vibration or suction? Are you using water-based or silicone lubricant? Do you have a latex allergy? What size are you comfortable with?
AI at Work: The Tools and Practices Powering Creativity, Commerce and Compliance
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AI at Work: The Tools and Practices Powering Creativity, Commerce and Compliance
For years, artificial intelligence felt like the plot of a science-fiction movie. Pop culture gave us Skynet from “The Terminator,” the replicants of “Blade Runner” and countless visions of machines replacing human creativity altogether. AI was cast as either humanity's next great breakthrough or the beginning of a dystopian future.
Meet the Women Shaping the Business of Pleasure
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Meet the Women Shaping the Business of Pleasure
Over the past two decades, the pleasure products industry has undergone a transformation that extends beyond product innovation. Once defined largely by novelty, stigma and male-driven narratives, the industry has steadily evolved into a sophisticated, wellness-oriented sector shaped by education, inclusivity and consumer empowerment.
Meet the New Class of Pleasure Purveyors Making Waves
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Meet the New Class of Pleasure Purveyors Making Waves
The sexual wellness industry has always evolved in response to cultural shifts, but the current wave of up-and-coming pleasure brands signals something deeper than trend cycles or aesthetic refreshes. These founders aren’t just launching new products; they are reframing what intimacy means, who it is for and how it fits into everyday life. Across supplements, toys, aftercare and even divination decks, a new generation of brands is closing long-ignored gaps — between pleasure and wellness, fantasy and function, science and sensuality, individuality and shared experience.
Signals Ahead: Pleasure Brands Track the Rapid Convergence of Tech and Intimacy
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Signals Ahead: Pleasure Brands Track the Rapid Convergence of Tech and Intimacy
As the pleasure industry enters 2026, many industry observers predict that the coming year will be shaped not by a single game-changing breakthrough or standout celebrity partnership, but rather by the slow, powerful alignment of consumer psychology, economic reality, cultural openness and shifting demographic needs.
Outlook 2026: Industry Execs Weigh In on Strategy, Monetization and Risk
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Outlook 2026: Industry Execs Weigh In on Strategy, Monetization and Risk
The adult industry enters 2026 at a moment of concentrated change. Over the past year, the sector’s evolution has accelerated. Creators have become full-scale businesses, managing branding, compliance, distribution and community under intensifying competition. Studios and platforms are refining production and business models in response to pressures ranging from regulatory mandates to shifting consumer preferences.
Retail Pulse: How Ecommerce Brands Are Driving Clicks With Creative Marketing
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Retail Pulse: How Ecommerce Brands Are Driving Clicks With Creative Marketing
Running an online store for adult products is a unique challenge. Ads get flagged. Payment processors label businesses as “high risk” and shut down merchant accounts with little warning. Yet despite these obstacles, entrepreneurs are creating thriving online communities, driving consistent traffic and helping sexual wellness brands find their audience.
Retail Pulse: How Distributors Are Elevating Sales Through Education and Curation
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Retail Pulse: How Distributors Are Elevating Sales Through Education and Curation
Once seen mainly as logistics providers, distributors have progressively taken on additional and complementary roles in the pleasure industry: as educators, marketers and even brand builders. Distributors introduce brands to consumers all over the world, applying their own unique strategies to selecting the best products for their customers in various markets.
Retail Pulse: How Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Boosting Sales With Ambiance and Service
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Retail Pulse: How Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Boosting Sales With Ambiance and Service
Walking into an adult store and being greeted by someone who not only knows the difference between various kinds of materials and motors, but also understands and empathizes, is where brick-and-mortar retailers really shine. Physical spaces enable them to engage shoppers’ senses, build rapport in real time and close sales.
Multipurpose Products Take Center Stage as Pleasure Brands Face Headwinds in Europe
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Multipurpose Products Take Center Stage as Pleasure Brands Face Headwinds in Europe
As 2025 unfolds, the European pleasure industry finds itself balancing between resilience and recalibration. After riding high on customer demand during the pandemic, the sector is now adjusting to more cautious customer behavior, global geopolitical tensions and shifting retail strategies.
A Deep Dive Into Key Trends Shaping Pleasure Products
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A Deep Dive Into Key Trends Shaping Pleasure Products
In 2025, the pleasure industry is evolving in intentional ways. Rather than racing toward newness for novelty’s sake, brands are reassessing everything from shape and function to what price intended shoppers can afford.
Adult Retailers Share Theft Prevention Strategies
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Adult Retailers Share Theft Prevention Strategies
Shoplifting has always posed a persistent challenge for retailers, and its effects reach far beyond simple loss of inventory. Theft can disrupt operations and saddle retailers with the cost of increased insurance premiums and heightened security measures. Robust security protocols can also negatively impact customers’ shopping experience.
Meet the Up-and-Coming Pleasure Brands of 2025
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Meet the Up-and-Coming Pleasure Brands of 2025
Over the past year, the pleasure industry has witnessed the emergence of new brands across various adult retail categories — brands that are now entering 2025 with ambitious goals for success and growth in their sophomore year.
Pleasure Purveyors Discuss Emerging Trends, Ambitions for 2025
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Pleasure Purveyors Discuss Emerging Trends, Ambitions for 2025
2025 is upon us, and the pleasure industry is poised for another dynamic year. As brands realign their goals to satisfy shifting demand, seize new opportunities and capitalize on cutting-edge innovations, the focus for the new year is on delivering inclusive, accessible and technology-driven products that redefine pleasure and wellness.
Pleasure Biz Mainstays Reflect on Decades-Long Careers, Share Advice for Up-and-Comers
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Pleasure Biz Mainstays Reflect on Decades-Long Careers, Share Advice for Up-and-Comers
“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That saying definitely holds true in the pleasure industry, where many executives build careers that exceed a quarter century.
A Look at the Global Trends Shaping the Pleasure Products Industry
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A Look at the Global Trends Shaping the Pleasure Products Industry
Multiple factors are shaping the pleasure landscape, including technological advancements, innovations in product design and sustainability, the impact of digital marketing and ecommerce, and the varying degrees of openness toward sexual wellness the industry encounters across different territories.
