Jason Bernal never thought of coffee as a sexy product—until he saw a television show that mentioned Seattle-area bikini baristas.

So he took a leap, ran with the concept, and opened Perky Cups in Aurora, Colorado. In doing so, he became part of a trend in which purveyors spice up normally mundane products such as java, haircuts, or sports-bar burgers by having women wearing bathing suits, lingerie, or halter tops and kilts doing the serving.

Merchants and marketing experts say there’s no research proving Americans turn to skin-touting businesses more often during economic downturns than in boom economies. But businesses have found new and daring ways to attract attention during the recession—and adding a touch of sexiness is a prime way to do that, several say.

“If push comes to shove, their basic survival is at risk, so you’ll see people get very creative and push the edge and do things that we might not otherwise find tasteful,” said Peter Whalen, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. “I don’t think that gives them a competitive advantage, per se. It does give them a point of communication to get people in the door.”

But at least three businesses that use sex appeal say that it’s helping revenue during a bleak time for retail.

Bernal, also a real estate investor, took over an old Peaberry Coffee shop that he said had brought in $1,500 daily. His enticingly dressed female servers helped him surpass that figure by “quite a bit” during his opening days of November 20 and 21, drawing both former Peaberry customers and new walks-ins—particularly men who said they usually get their java at convenience stores and gas stations but would never go back to them.

Perky Cups takes the most tongue-in-cheek approach to its sexuality, offering coffee in A, B, C, and D-sized cups (with 32-ounce double-D cups on the way soon). It has theme days, such as “cowgirls” and “school girls” and plans to offer “frozen hotties” frozen drinks soon.

One woman left the store during opening weekend after telling the servers she wouldn’t return until they put some clothes on, Bernal said. Otherwise, he’s reported no negative reaction, a female customer percentage of about 30 percent, and satisfaction from male customers who appreciate the baristas’ “flirty” attitudes.

The client base of A Little Off the Top, a men’s salon where female hairstylists and masseuses offer their services in lingerie, is “99.4 percent male,” said Johnny Wilson of Denver-based Franchise Management Group, a franchising consultant to the company.

Co-owner Nita Williams, who bought a floundering Englewood, Colorado, lingerie salon two years ago and since has opened two more metro-area locations in Aurora and Arvada, said they’ve learned to be more discreet about the sexuality.

A Little Off the Top still runs newspaper ads that focus on the lingerie rather than the quality haircut; Williams said that remains key to getting people through the door. But as Wilson has begun seeking national franchisees, he’s changed the pitch from a salon with models in “lingerie” to one where they sport “sexy attire” because the former term conjured up the wrong image in many people’s minds, he said.