I’m surprised I haven’t written an article like this in the past, but I feel qualified to write one. If you run a store, if you want to, if you work with a sex toy retailer, run social media for one or are otherwise associated, take heed.
New Additions
Listen, I’ve been around the block a time or two, so I know what’s already out there. What I want to know, especially if I’ve been a loyal customer of yours, is what’s new. You need to let me organize your categories by date added, at the very least. What I really prefer, however, is a “recent additions” page, or something similar. Plus, this makes your website look updated, which it should be.
Social Media Prescence
Social media isn’t rocket science, but it does take time. With it, you can build relationships and bill yourself as personal, a face behind the company. As a consumer, I sometimes use social media to verify whether you’re a legitimate business. When you’re on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you instantly have access to your followers, who are often doom scrolling, anyway. Tell us what’s new or highlight product features. Give us coupons on Twitter, and we’ll shop at your site. Tell us when something’s on sale, and we’ll love you forever.
A Review System
Now, if no sex toy store had a review system, I’d be okay. After all, that’s sort of why this website and my reviews exist. And plenty of people don’t use on-site review systems to get their reviews, or they supplement them with reviews from sites like mine.
But if you put those reviews right on your site, you provide an extra reason for consumers to use your website. You provide a form of interaction that cements your store in the customer’s mind. It gives you a good idea of products that are worth selling and putting on sale and those that you should drop. Reviews: you can’t go wrong with them.
People Skills
One of the websites that has frustrated me the most does so because the staff lacks people skills. There’s no understanding. There’s no polite asking. There’s only demanding and dictatorships. There are strict rules that change on a whim and a total breakdown of communication. You do not want to be that company.
Basic and Luxury Toys
I don’t always recommend a luxury toy. After all, I’ve tried plenty of Lelo and Jimmyjane toys that just didn’t do it. My favorite bullet isn’t luxury, and we don’t all have deep pockets. Yet some people do have a larger budget. Or choose to live in crappy apartments but splurge on sex toys. Some people save up all year. Others comb the Internet for sales like these. If you only focus on the super cheap or the amazingly expensive, you’re missing out on a large demographic. You’re making consumers go to other retailers to meet their needs and doing yourself no good.
Updated Stock
Just like I wanted to see what’s new, I want there to simply be new things. Add new toys and remove those that are no longer in production. If you have the resources, give us a system that lets us set alerts. Tell us how many are in stock (which can even encourage sales). Nothing’s worse than ordering from a company only to find out that the product doesn’t exist except, maybe, seeing ten-year-old toys that you know aren’t actually available on a site.
Sex Toy Knowledge
I appreciate that many retailers have taken the time to remove vagina-tightening creams and toys with phthalates. Before they could make that decision, they had to know what items could potentially be harmful. My personal favorite? Toys described for anal play that obviously aren’t safe for the backdoor. When you know about toys and aren’t simply trying to make a quick buck, you know how to categorize them, pass on bad toys, and better answer customer questions. Win-win, right?
A God-damned Search Feature
Please let me search your every page with a little form on your every page. Please do not use a search plugin that does not respond immediately and interrupts or erases my typing.
So you want to know which (mostly) shops do these things? SheVibe, Good Vibes, and Lovehoney.
This is, by no means, a definitive list. There are plenty of things that a sex toy store should have. There are even more things that a store should have–and plenty of things it shouldn’t—if it also wants to run a successful community. What would you add to the list?
