For some customers, especially first-timers, entering an adult retail store can be a nerve-racking experience. That’s why Colorado pleasure chain Awakening emphasizes customer comfort, aiming to destigmatize conversations around adult products by providing a safe and respectful shopping experience.
Founded in 2018 by longtime friends Tory Johnson and Rose Kalasz, both of whom worked traditional retail jobs before entering the adult space, Awakening’s first location opened in Denver. Since the Denver metropolitan area offers a diverse range of adult retail shops, Awakening’s approach of making sure staff members have a unique relationship with their customers and excel at meeting their needs has served as a way for the store to distinguish itself.
I love that we have found awesome, compassionate humans to work with us.
“I love that we have found awesome, compassionate humans to work with us,” Johnson says.
She recalls facing some unexpected challenges at the outset, however.
“Nothing prepares you for adult retail if you haven’t worked it before,” Johnson says. “It’s not helping someone pick out a blouse or a baby onesie. It is much more intimate. People cross boundaries with you a lot more than your average retail. We have people sharing traumas, sharing with us that this is the first adult space they’ve been in in two decades because of that trauma. They’re finally trying to revisit that part of themselves.
“I think that was both a big positive and negative thing,” Johnson reflects. “It was heartbreaking to hear all these things semiregularly — but also made us feel gratified that people were trusting us with that journey.”
To create a warm atmosphere, Awakening’s staff specializes in answering questions and providing recommendations.
“It can be really daunting trying to figure out where to start,” Johnson says. “Even in a store as small as ours, there are so many options. I can always see it on someone’s face when they get overwhelmed by looking at 30 different lubricants. If you’re new to the industry or trying to pick out your very first adult toy, it can be a lot. So we try to give people as much gentle guidance as possible.”
While most businesses have the option of using social media to promote their brand and increase awareness, adult retail stores face restrictive rules when marketing via those channels. For Awakening, expanding its client base while navigating those turbulent waters is an ongoing battle.
“We are lucky that have managed to build a platform,” Johnson said. “Our Instagram following is, I think, over 11,000 now. We built a lot of that in the first two years, before the policies were as strict. The downside is that it’s hard to grow that audience with people who have moved to town recently. We still do some online marketing, but we’re such a small team, and we just don’t have the budget for it.”
In order to keep Awakening’s vision and stores open through the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson and Kalasz worked without pay for six months, furloughed employees while maintaining their benefits, and pivoted to local deliveries and online sales. According to Johnson, the momentum Awakening had built up helped carry the company through that unpredictable period.
“It was terrifying, but by then we’d had a year of connecting with the community and getting our name out there before everything happened,” Johnson recalls.
Johnson has also observed changes in customers’ shopping choices since the pandemic.
“We saw a real uptick with the Bluetooth toys during the pandemic, but now the trends in what people are asking for and buying seem to be going simpler,” Johnson observes. “Instead of looking for high-tech, more customers want something with three buttons and three settings — that’s good enough for them. Even the connoisseurs who have all the high-tech stuff will come in and just want something different, something simple.”
A year ago, Awakening closed its second Denver store, in the River North Art District, in order to expand into Northern Colorado with a new location in Fort Collins.
“We just hit one year in Fort Collins, and it was definitely a big leap,” Johnson says. “But we figured if we’re going to have two locations, it made more sense to have one outside of Denver. We had customers from all over coming to our Denver store asking for something closer to Northern Colorado.”
Asked to share key lessons for anyone entering the industry or seeking to follow in Awakening’s footsteps, Johnson emphasizes growing a local customer base.
“Don’t think about how you can compete against Amazon, because you’re not going to,” Johnson advises. “You need to find your niche and carve it out.”
