Feature Articles
Tips for Upgrading Retail Merchandising With AI
opinion
Tips for Upgrading Retail Merchandising With AI
When an order from CalExotics arrived at one of our stores in Livermore, I wanted to help build the wall. After reorganizing it, I took a picture and asked ChatGPT what it thought of the wall. First, it noticed a gap in the top row and recommended adding a toy there or changing the spacing. Then it said, “I noticed there are some toys on the right that aren’t in boxes. You should take those down or put them in boxes.”
How to Get Shoppers in the Mood for Pleasure During the Holidays
opinion
How to Get Shoppers in the Mood for Pleasure During the Holidays
Carolers may be singing about tidings of comfort and joy, but this time of year, the holiday rush, social fatigue and long to-do lists can leave many people feeling a bit short of both. Fortunately, consumers are now more willing to invest in self-care — and to expand their understanding of that category beyond cocoa and cozy blankets, to include sensual care and pleasure.
How Small Stocking Stuffers Lead to Big Holiday Success for Retailers
opinion
How Small Stocking Stuffers Lead to Big Holiday Success for Retailers
With the holiday rush fast approaching, here’s a tip for retailers aiming to be among this year’s big winners: Think small.
How Adult Retailers Can Retain Staff, Strengthen Team Morale
opinion
How Adult Retailers Can Retain Staff, Strengthen Team Morale
Running an adult retail store is not just about stocking shelves with fun products. It’s also about creating a space where people feel comfortable, curious and confident in exploring pleasure — and the heart of that experience is your staff.
AI Inventory Tools That Help Retailers Save Time, Boost Accuracy
opinion
AI Inventory Tools That Help Retailers Save Time, Boost Accuracy
Last month, I discussed how managing your inventory with AI can help you make sure that your store stocks what sells — not merchandise that gathers dust. That’s because AI tools can analyze data, identify trends and predict demand for thousands of items across multiple locations, all within minutes.
Why Blue Tick Verification on Instagram Matters for Sexual Wellness Pros
opinion
Why Blue Tick Verification on Instagram Matters for Sexual Wellness Pros
In an era when misinformation proliferates so rapidly, establishing trust with your audience is both more difficult and more crucial than ever. That blue check mark next to your name on Instagram — the Meta Verified badge — can mean the difference between achieving credibility and being ignored.
How Genuine Connection Drives Retail Success
opinion
How Genuine Connection Drives Retail Success
When I hear struggling adult retailers lament about a lack of customers, I want to sympathize, but I also want to tell them: “People haven’t stopped shopping. They haven’t lost interest in pleasure, play or discovery. If your business is underperforming, the problem may not be your customer base. It may be how you’re connecting with them — or failing to.”
How Retailers Can Keep Travel-Season Sales Going Beyond the Holidays
opinion
How Retailers Can Keep Travel-Season Sales Going Beyond the Holidays
It’s November, and that means quick escapes. The couple planning a cozy night in, the weekend guest grabbing a cheeky host gift, and the solo traveler prepping for an impulsive getaway all share one thing in common: They’re not just browsing; they’re assembling a discreet, travel-ready kit to have all their pleasure essentials packed and ready.
The Basics of Total Cost of Ownership in Retail
opinion
The Basics of Total Cost of Ownership in Retail
Almost every retailer has experienced that “oh no” moment. It’s when support tickets pile up, staff can’t get answers fast enough, store openings get delayed because Wi-Fi isn’t ready, or the POS proves to be outdated. Suddenly you’re too busy fixing problems to focus on driving sales.
How to Market a Product You Can't Name or Show Online
opinion
How to Market a Product You Can't Name or Show Online
You’re trying to sell legal, helpful products to consenting adults — yet the internet treats those products like a problem. The viral success every brand dreams of can seem maddeningly elusive when search engines block or restrict common keywords, social feeds shadow-ban PG posts, review bots misread images and policies shift overnight with no notice.
How Managing Inventory With AI Helps Retailers Stock Smarter
opinion
How Managing Inventory With AI Helps Retailers Stock Smarter
If you’ve ever stood in a stockroom looking at a wall of unsold merchandise, then you know this basic truth: Your inventory is an asset — until it starts gathering dust. But how do we predict what customers want? That’s the eternal retail dilemma.
A Retail Guide for Boosting Sales in the Often-Overlooked Nipple Play Category
opinion
A Retail Guide for Boosting Sales in the Often-Overlooked Nipple Play Category
When it comes to sex toys, one area of the body that often gets overlooked by both consumers and salespeople is the nipples. Even though human nipples are packed with nerve endings and are sensitive and responsive across genders, they frequently get ignored as a focus for pleasure products — usually simply because nipple toys are small and come in tiny packaging.
What Sexual Wellness Brands Can Learn From Taylor Swift
opinion
What Sexual Wellness Brands Can Learn From Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is an undeniable cultural force, but her superpower isn’t just music. From surprise album drops on podcasts to billion-dollar tours, the Swiftie empire has turned into a global movement in large part thanks to effective marketing.
How Humor Breaks the Ice in Adult Retail
opinion
How Humor Breaks the Ice in Adult Retail
Laughter sells. That’s especially true in our industry. Where vulnerability and curiosity walk through the door together, humor can help turn hesitation into comfort.
Why It's Time for Adult Retail to Embrace AI
opinion
Why It's Time for Adult Retail to Embrace AI
In the late 1980s, I was working in the rental car business. My first company didn’t have a single computer. Everything — contracts, inventory, employee records — was done by hand. If you wanted a report, you dug through paper files and crunched numbers on a calculator. It was tedious, but it was all we knew.
What Retailers Gain by Partnering With Family-Run Brands
opinion
What Retailers Gain by Partnering With Family-Run Brands
In an age increasingly dominated by corporate consolidation and faceless supply chains, choosing to work with a family-owned and operated business can offer retailers a depth of value that goes far beyond pricing and product margins.
How the 'Back Massager' Vibrator Became the World's Most Versatile Sex Toy
opinion
How the 'Back Massager' Vibrator Became the World's Most Versatile Sex Toy
Wand vibrators are once again having a pop culture moment. Recently, Harry Styles expanded his lifestyle brand, Pleasing, by introducing a “Pleasing Yourself” double-sided wand vibrator developed in collaboration with sex educator Zoë Ligon.
Strategic Retail Buying in a Shifting Pleasure Economy
opinion
Strategic Retail Buying in a Shifting Pleasure Economy
Retail buying has never been a static job, but recent volatility in pricing, caused by shifting tariffs, global import costs and freight variations, has demanded a new level of agility for adult industry buyers and managers. As business expenses rise, so does the pressure to optimize the return on every product.
Michigan's Intimate Ideas Offers Playful Retail Setting for Wide Range of Shoppers
opinion
Michigan's Intimate Ideas Offers Playful Retail Setting for Wide Range of Shoppers
Jerry Manis, the regional manager of Intimate Ideas’ Michigan stores, never planned on working in adult retail — but he says it’s turned out to be a surprisingly rewarding gig.
Kraig McGee Blends Family Values, Creative Background at TAF Distributing
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opinion
Kraig McGee Blends Family Values, Creative Background at TAF Distributing
Walk into any Adam & Eve store in the Mountain West region of the U.S. and you’ve likely stumbled into a TAF Distributing outfit. Owned by industry veteran Kraig McGee Jr. and staffed by his closest family members, McGee’s 35 TAF-operated stores span 13 states, from woodsy Idaho to scenic Utah and well beyond.
