Feature Articles
Dr. Tush's Brings Anal Care to the Forefront
Few personal health products have inspired descriptions quite so bold as “If Neosporin and Aquaphor had a baby, and that baby became a crime-fighting superhero for your skin.” Then again, even fewer can live up to their own hype.
Tips for Promoting Inclusivity, Accessibility in Adult Retail
Walking into an adult store or browsing a retail website should feel like an invitation — an open, shame-free space to explore pleasure and identity. But for many of us, that’s not the reality. As a queer, nonbinary and physically disabled person, I’ve spent years navigating physical and digital spaces that weren’t built with people like me in mind.
Tips for Reinvigorating Marketing Strategy by Tapping Into Online Feedback
For the past 50 years or so, the pleasure industry has worked tirelessly to increase public acceptance of sex toys. We’ve done an incredible job, and that progress has only accelerated since I first started out working the sales floor at Babeland nearly 20 years ago.
The 'Wall of Shame' in Adult Retail: Deterrent or Dilemma?
Retail theft affects all kinds of businesses, but adult retailers face unique challenges when it comes to loss prevention. One of the more controversial strategies some retailers have adopted is the “wall of shame,” a public display of shoplifters caught in the act.
Mitigating Retail Shrink Through Intelligent Video Solutions
Retail shrink isn’t just a cost of doing business — it’s an existential threat. Theft, fraud, operational inefficiencies and employee mismanagement chip away at profits in ways that many business owners don’t even realize.
The Power of Authenticity in Selling Pleasure Products
I’ve been working in the pleasure industry for more than two decades. For a significant chunk of that time, I thought that to be successful in sales, I had to fit a mold. I assumed that selling meant following a formula: say the right things, use the right voice and present myself in a way that was guaranteed to convert.
Dennis DeSantis on Building a Blockbuster Career in Adult Retail
The adult industry and the mainstream Hollywood scene often intersect, and few executives are more familiar with that crossover than Dennis DeSantis.
'Pleasure Professionals Place' Facebook Group Marks 5 Years of Fostering Connections
Where can you find the pleasure industry’s most tantalizing, trending and relevant conversational banter? For once, we’re not talking about a trade show after-party!
How Cannabis Culture Is Reshaping Sexual Wellness, Pleasure
April is a month of celebration: Lovers Day, Earth Day… and 4/20. Once a subculture symbol, “420” has evolved into a movement that bridges cannabis advocacy, wellness and an increasingly vital discussion around sexual health and pleasure.
WIA Profile: Holly Corbella
Even during last year’s retail slump, the adult home party business continued to rock and roll — at least in New Jersey. Just ask Holly Corbella. Based in the Garden State, Corbella is the founder, CEO and lead party planner for Parties by Bellas, an intimate, in-home sex toy event company focusing on creating budget-friendly home parties for women on the East Coast.
Friday Bae Founder Benoit Palix Discusses Brand's Gen Z Focus
French sexual wellness brand Friday Bae is aiming to disrupt the market with its genderfluid, inclusive pleasure products. With bright pops of color for Gen Z and millennials to swoon over, Friday Bae is merging creativity and education for fans, dubbed the “Bae Squad.”
Self Serve's Matie Fricker on Promoting Sex-Positivity in Albuquerque
For 18 years, Self Serve has been providing a sex-positive space for adult toys and resources to folks in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The story behind its success is all about making connections: connecting with your passion, with your business partner, with your customers, with your staff and with your community.
Why Inclusivity in the Pleasure Industry Is More Important Than Ever
2025 has kicked off with a series of unsettling events. Tension and anxiety are high across North America as the unknown impact of tariffs, climate change and attacks on human rights loom ominously. In times of unrest, seeking pleasure is not frivolity but necessity.
2025's Top Tech Trends That Adult Retailers Should Know About
I just got back from the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo, also known as “Retail’s Big Show,” where I walked the floor, sat in on key panels, talked with industry experts and influencers, and did my best to sift through the b.s. so I could report back to you all on the things you need to care about.
Understanding the Importance of Graphic Design in Sexual Wellness Social Media Marketing
In the world of social media, graphic design is more than just making things look visually appealing — it’s a vital tool in shaping and maintaining a brand’s identity. Your social media is your storefront, so aesthetics mean everything.
How Adult Retail Is Shaping Sexual Health One Customer at a Time
Remember back in health class, when they taught us about boundaries, consent and how many nerve endings are in the clitoris? Of course you don’t, because it didn’t happen. In fact, sex education is still severely lacking in much of the U.S.
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.
WIA Profile: Nefertiti Mitchell
Local retailers are the backbone of the pleasure industry. Driven by passionate business owners who are deeply dedicated to sexual wellness, brick-and-mortar stores serve as safe spaces that uplift and delight customers — while greasing the wheels of commerce for manufacturers and distributors.
Industry Vet Mike Savage Discusses Comeback, Goals With Full Circle Distribution
"We never know where life’s going to take us,” says Mike Savage. He should know. The pleasure biz veteran, who describes himself as “a poor Irish kid from Philly,” first made his name in the adult retail biz over the course of a nearly 40-year career.
Sensually Yours Founder Shellee Rose on Boosting Sex Positivity in Hawaii
Honolulu pleasure store Sensually Yours has served Hawaii for 40 years, establishing itself as a top destination for adult products. Founder and President Shellee Rose says her most important strategy for achieving four decades of success has been prioritizing customers.