Selfridges tempts shoppers with sex therapy and ‘psychedelic trips’
Selfridges is to offer sex therapy and drug-free “psychedelic trips” in the luxury department store’s latest gambit to tempt shoppers back into stores.
From 28 February, the retailer, which has outlets in Manchester, Birmingham and London, will offer the headline-grabbing services as part of its Superself event, which it claims “takes visitors on a journey of uplifting self-discovery and nurturing self-care”.
The therapy sessions are being provided in partnership with The Stack World, a women-focused online media outlet that was spun out of the Beautystack beauty marketplace founded by the former stylist Sharmadean Reid.
The 45-minute £150 “sex life reboot” is being led by Dr Karen Gurney, a clinical psychologist and psycho-sexologist who promises “to evaluate and reset a couple’s or an individual’s sex life through a Sex Life MOT”. Other options include a £50 confidence coaching session or £99 “creative breakthrough” meeting with a hypnotherapist.
The “psychedelic trips” are provided via hi-tech pods operated by technology specialist Sensiks, where users are bombarded with “bespoke fragrances, infrared light, heat and sound”. The colourful constructions, which resemble giant seed pods, use virtual reality technology to help users “drift through” a “calming universe” of kaleidoscopic forms and relaxing music. Selfridges claims the experience is “much like a short meditation”.
Superself is the latest in a long line of Selfridges events, with themes ranging from literature to the environment, that have aimed to tempt shoppers into stores in the digital age. This year is particularly tricky as city centres, and especially London where Selfridges has its flagship store, have been hard hit after the pandemic prompted a shift to
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