An 18+ section in your store: assortment, presentation, and discretion
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Adding an 18+ section to your store or webshop? Here's how to build a compact starter assortment, present it neatly, and arrange for discretion and hygiene without a fuss.
In many gift shops, wholesalers, and mixed webshops, the 18+ assortment is placed in a corner that nobody has really set up: a basket near the cash register, a few unpriced boxes, and a salesperson who prefers to avoid the topic. This is a shame, because these products have good margins, high repeat purchases, and customers who know exactly what they are looking for. The difference between a messy basket and a shelf that sells lies mainly in the choices you make beforehand: what you buy, how you present it, and how you handle discretion and hygiene.
This guide is intended for retailers, market traders, and webshops that want to add or revamp an 18+ section. Not a large department, but a compact corner that makes sense.
Start with consumables, not expensive toys
The temptation to start with striking, expensive items is strong. This is usually the wrong order. Consumables — lubricants, cleaners, sachets — are inexpensive to purchase, take up little space, have no sizing issues, and lead to repeat purchases. Once someone buys a bottle, they’ll buy another one later.
A workable basic setup looks like this:
Two sizes of water-based lubricant. An entry-level option like the Lotus Flower Aqua Lubricant 150 ml (€ 4.15) and a mid-range variant like Water-based Lubricant 150 ml (€ 9.95). Water-based is the safest standard: it’s easy to explain and compatible with most materials.
If you work with larger volumes or events, Lubricant Sachets 7 ml - 120 pieces (€ 59.95) are handy: individual portions that you can include or give away.
Presentation: visible enough, but not intrusive
An 18+ section works best when it can be found without customers having to *walk past* it. At the back of the store, on one side of an aisle, or on a fixed shelf next to the cash register. What you want to avoid is customers with children unexpectedly encountering it, and adult customers having to ask where it is.
Practical, low-cost interventions:
Utilize height. A Transparent Acrylic Stair Display with 6 steps (€ 34.95) places bottles at varying heights, so labels remain readable and the shelf doesn't look like a pile of boxes.
Hanging items separately. Small items on cards look neater than loose in a bin. A metal display holder (€ 17.95) is for keychains, but works for any small item with a hanging loop.
Price on each product. This is the biggest difference between "sells" and "doesn't sell." Customers are less likely to ask for a price for 18+ items. A Price Gun MX-5500 (€ 24.95) with a supply of white price stickers, 5000 pieces (€ 9.95) can be integrated within an hour.
Discretion at the cash register and in shipping
Discretion costs you nothing and reduces barriers. In the store, it means: offering a paper bag as standard without talking about it, and not reading out the receipt aloud.
In the webshop, it's more concrete. Ship in neutral outer packaging and do not put product names on the label. A plain cardboard shipping box of 15x15x15 cm (€ 1.99) or a bubble envelope 22x17 cm (€ 0.90) reveals nothing from the outside. If you want the customer to be able to check if the package was opened during transit, use VOID security seals, 60 pieces (€ 9.95): these leave a visible trace if someone removes them.
Also, put your shipping policy on your site. "Neutral packaging, no product names on the package" is a sentence that generates orders.
Hygiene and shelf life: two simple rules
Rule one: no out-of-package testers. With cosmetics and personal care, you can put out a tester, but not with 18+ items. If you want customers to feel something, choose an item that you deliberately write off as a demo and keep it behind the counter, sealed in a bag.
Rule two: pay attention to the open-jar symbol and the expiry date on bottles. Lubricants and oils have a limited shelf life after opening, and this is indicated on the packaging itself. Rotate your stock by date and place the oldest bottles at the front. A bottle of Disinfectant Hand Gel 70% Alcohol 500 ml (€ 4.95) at the counter is a small effort; customers who touch something visibly appreciate it.
Additionally, internally agree on what age policy you will apply and document it, also for your webshop. Most providers adhere to 18 years as their own sales condition. Check for your specific situation which rules and licensing conditions apply to your type of store and municipality; these vary per location and product group.
What to stock and what to order on demand
As a rule of thumb, anything costing under €15 should be in stock, and anything above that can easily be ordered on demand. Consumables, games, and small accessories are stock items: they are inexpensive, last a long time, and customers buy them along. More expensive items with sizing or technology can be displayed on an A4 sheet with a QR code leading to your webshop, or via a single demo package in the display case.
When starting, plan for about twenty different items. This is enough to make a shelf look full, and small enough to see what sells after eight weeks. Record what you sell each week; after two months, you'll know which three items to buy in bulk and which ones you can discontinue.
Get started
Do you want to set up an 18+ section or spruce up your current shelf? For consumables, check out Lubricants and Toy Cleaners; for impulse items, look at Erotic Games; and for a broader selection, visit Erotic Drugstore. For setup and shipping, you’ll find everything under Price Guns & Labels and Packaging & Shipping. If you're unsure about the composition of a starter assortment or quantities, email your situation to info@verpakkingdeals.nl and we'll help you come up with a list that suits your store or webshop.
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