Comment: Seizing the Fifty Shades opportunity

Two weekends ago, like many women, I became a Ryder Cup widow. I was of course still kept abreast of every shot, whether I liked it or not, and I have to confess the last round was pretty exciting, but there are some things a woman can fake and an interest in golf isn’t one of them.

Tiger Woods’ concession on the 18th green brought to a conclusion the most memorable summer of sport, but while I loved the Tour de France, the Olympics and the fist-pumping drama at Medinah, 2012 will for me always be the year of Fifty Shades Of Grey.

You see, even when we were all collectively marveling at the achievements of Bradley, Mo or Jess, most women were talking, reading or wondering about Christian and Anastasia.

But Fifty Shades Of Grey became so much more than social currency – its impact has far reaching implications for retail.

For a start, we’ve seen sales of restraints, blindfolds and whips rise by as much as 60% and we can just about keep up with the demand for the toys featured in the book.

It has tested us operationally but because communication is good and our reporting structure and systems both agile and flexible, we were able to rise to the challenge. What more can your business do to take advantage of opportunities like these? Are you ready for the next cultural phenomenon?

In terms of brand communication, in particular digital and social media, your brand should have something to say about Fifty Shades Of Grey. I loved my local carpet shop’s twist, with its window proclaiming ‘Fifty Shades of Beige’. But get this: the most popular shade of beige they sell is a grey-beige. Apparently, it’s all the rage.

It’s also changed the language we use. Next time you eat something delicious or drink something divine, simply exclaiming “Oh my” will mark you out as a Fifty Shades Of Grey fan and we’ll all know how good it tastes.

So I’m waiting, expecting to see everything from lipstick to apple pie with that moniker added in some form or another. I’d especially like to buy a coffee, with an extra shot of “Oh my”, particularly as I could never again be seen to be enjoying a shot of vanilla.

However, what’s perhaps more significant is that we’ve seen a paradigm shift in the way women shop in our stores, not seen since the Rampant Rabbit was featured on Sex and the City.

Social psychologists call it cognitive dissonance (you might have to look that up – I did) but we see it as sexual confidence unleashed.

Women are no longer embarrassed to buy handcuffs or spankers – why should they be when every other woman on the train is reading it and half the women at theirbook club got tied up by their husbands at the weekend. It says to me that women’s fashion could become more risqué, than austerity-driven risk averse.

• Jacqueline Gold is chief executive of Ann Summers