As I followed Alison Miller Barber, owner of Taboo for the last decade, to her office to sit and chat about the effects of technology on her business, we passed aisles of product, arranged by type and fetish—a sexual candy store for adults that has exactly what the customer came for, and endless opportunities for exploration. As customers lingered about, picking up products and asking the Taboo Girls at the counter for advice, we walked to the back of the store, where Alison paused to acknowledge my surprise at the rooms and rooms stuffed with pornographic DVD offerings. “Over 7,000 titles,” she smiled proudly at the store’s collection.
We entered into her office, winding past towers of retail overstock, and took a seat at her desk, surrounded by the latest in sexy wearables and fetish gear. “Sorry about the mess,” she said. “We’re getting ready to expand again, and stuff is just everywhere right now.” With that comment, it’s obvious that Alison isn’t concerned much with the need to downsize due to the current economic trends. She kicked back in her chair, and we began.
Jaime Turko: How have the latest trends in technology, such as social networking, affected your business?
Alison Barber: Social networking, from an advertising perspective, is great. I remember when MySpace came out and I had to ask my younger employees, “What’s MySpace? Maybe we should be on here,” and then having them show me how to make a page, and realizing that it’s my duty to learn about this. Twitter, I thought, was ridiculous, the dumbest idea I had ever heard of, but I realized that there was no reason to not to take advantage of it, because it is free advertising, and it would be irresponsible of me not to. So we started with the MySpace page. Then I learned how to take full advantage of that, posting sexy Happy Birthday images with the Taboo Girls on our customer’s pages, and went that way with Facebook also, and eventually Twitter. To me, there’s nothing like it. Before these, there was no advertising that was as far-reaching and free. As far as that side of things go, technology has been awesome.
As far as my business and what I sell, that’s kind of a different story, because I’m sure there will come a day when nobody’s going to buy DVDs anymore, where pornographic movies will be available as an online download. It’s increasingly trending that way, not to the extent that it’s really bothered me, but I realized that online technology is developing more. I’m kind of dreading it, and I know I won’t be selling the number of DVDs that I am selling now in 20 years, but so far it hasn’t hurt me too badly.
I see this change mainly hurting our DVD sales. I love DVDs, I love ordering them and selling them, and have no interest at all in going into selling online porn, so I’m scared that I’m going to become a dinosaur in that respect. As far as clothing and toys, I don’t really see it affecting us that much. It’s more the movies.
JT: Do you have an online store component as well as the brick and mortar store?
AB: Not really. We have a website that you can shop through but it’s an affiliate program. It pretty much links to someone else’s site, and then we get a small percentage of the profits.
JT: Before the social networking sites, how did you advertise?
AB: Mostly radio, some print. We have always done events, donated gift certificates and have given away prizes for mentions--pretty much mainly traditional advertising. But we’ve never done TV.
JT: How much of an impact do you feel that social networking has had on sales and getting people to the store?
AB: I wouldn’t say it’s our best form of advertising, but it’s our best for for the money, or lack thereof. I feel that radio has done more, but definitely social networking is valuable, it’s just so constant. I make a point of updating Facebook and Twitter several times a day, whether I have huge news or I’m just saying something. I watch our followers increase on both, so I know that it’s valuable, but I would definitely not rely on social networking as my only form of advertising.
JT: Do you feel that the utilization of social updates has made the sex industry more approachable? Has it made Taboo less “taboo”, and more of a mainstream-acceptable cool thing?
AB: I would think so. You’re always going to have your people who park on the side of the building, and then you’re going to have your people who are totally open and unafraid. I think that for the most part, the people who follow us on Facebook and Twitter were never the people who parked behind the building, but are mostly the younger people who embrace their lifestyle and aren’t shy or ashamed of it. But I think exposure to anything will make it less taboo, whether it’s Taboo’s page or the fact that every single porn star tweets about 500 times a day. It’s just more out there in general, which makes the whole industry more out there and less taboo overall.
JT: Are there many websites where you can download streaming pornography similar to the Netflix concept, or where you can purchase movies on demand?
AB: Certainly scenes are available online to stream, and if your goal is to get off in 5 minutes, it’s not a problem online. I think DVDs continue to sell to people who are into the movies and the stars and see them as legitimate entertainment, and less for the people who are looking for just a great 30 seconds. Plus I think there are a lot of people who don’t trust making purchases on the internet, and are afraid that they’re going to end up on a site that’s going to steal their information, which is certainly valid.
JT: Do you see many of your customers come in to purchase a particular DVD because they have seen a sample online and want to purchase the full movie?
AB: Not often. I see more customers who have read about a movie, or have seen a preview for it on another DVD.
JT: How will you adapt,if you do see a decrease in DVD sales?
AB: I will carry more products and carry more toys and decrease DVDs. Right now we’re about to expand again and increase our DVDs. We just added another 1,000, so I’m not worried yet. As of now, I have no plans to decrease. If anything, I’m working to make our DVD section broader and more organized. Right now we have over 40 sections and knowledgeable salespeople, which definitely combats the online porn thing.
JT: What technological changes have you experienced in the past 10 years with the other products that you carry?
AB: I really haven’t. Toys have been available online forever, but people tend to want to see what they’re getting. It’s a very personal purchase, and just clicking on something online is not the same as going to the store and having someone take it out of the box and put batteries in it for a customer to see. It’s definitely the type of purchase where you need to know what you’re getting, because you can’t return it.
I haven’t really seen a change, and I don’t anticipate toy sales going down. People prefer to see them in person. Many people come in because they researched a toy they saw online, but they really want to see it and touch it before they go home with it. Having salespeople who know what they’re talking about and can give you advice is really helpful, and you’re not going to get that online.
JT: Do you test and watch everything that you carry so that everyone is knowledgeable about the products, or do you do online research about the products?
AB: We really like what we sell, so when we get in new and interesting products, we do take the time to pop batteries in them and check them out. I do research online and take advice from sales reps and industry professionals when I’m deciding what to purchase. That influences what I purchase, but our advice [that] we give customers is pretty much from trying the products out in the store, or making purchases of our own, taking them home and trying them out, so that people know what works.
I think there’s a definite parallel between what we’re doing and what a music store does. It’s true that more people are downloading music online, but people who really love music love going to a record store, browsing through the music, talking about the music, and listening to the music while they’re there, and people who own and manage those stores really love music. I love pornographic DVDs, I’m a nerd that researches what stars are signed to what labels--it’s like collecting music for me, and I’m really catering to the people who love it too.
I think the people who just need masturbation fodder for 5 minutes might turn on the internet and that’s fine, but I’m selling to the people who love collecting DVDs and who are paying attention to what they are getting.
JT: Do you see the advancements in technology affecting your business positively at all in the future?
AB: We have a new product called the FleshDrive, which is a little flash drive that comes with 20 different 1/2 hour sex scenes, so that’s improved technology that I can get behind and sell. [It’s] compact and discreet and easy to carry around, with hours and hours of sex on it, but you don’t have to connect on the internet and worry about getting hacked to watch it. So that’s a technological innovation that I can get behind and find exciting. I’m sure there will be higher tech toys that will come out.
I feel like marketing can only get better. The main downside are things like satellite radio and DVR-ing TV shows where you can fastforward through the commercials. You’re not forced to listen to commercials on TV or radio like you used to be, but I think that just means that people are going to have to change their avenues, which isn’t necessarily such a bad thing.
I search online to ensure that Taboo is listed on every single merchant database that is free, where a while back there was none of that, and that’s helpful.
JT: How is the FleshDrive selling?
AB: We just started selling it, and the customers who have gotten it are really pleased. Each drive has a certain genre, like group or all-girl, and there’s about 18-20 different types of drives. It’s a collectable technology that’s discreet, and customers don’t want their kids to see their DVD collection. As long as their kids don’t put it into the computer, if you see it laying around in the drawer, you will never know what it is.
JT: What is your strongest form of advertising?
AB: Primarily the radio, Sports 910, where I run commercials, and I go on the air in the studio. For the past 3 years, I play a game called “Score with Alison” every football Friday, where people can call in and try to score with me by picking football games against me. I get a ton of people who come into the store and ask “Are you Alison? I heard you on Sports 910,” which is advertisement that recognizes me as a personality and runs ads at the some time. I get people all the time who mention that they heard me on the radio. It’s fun, and people listen.
JT: Any closing thoughts?
AB: Yes, I do think that you need to adapt to changes to a certain extent, but you should not necessarily abandon who you are and why you started selling what you’re selling to begin with. Because there’s someone out there who loves it, and wants to shop for it the way that you always did.
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