I suppose they just go in stores. They do not, however, tend to make that big of an effort to get ties or mention that’s it’s particularly important to them. Hence my mentioning that I make one was unusual.
In the olden days ties were a common gift for men. You’d also pick one up to go with a new suit, or you might inherit some from your father. I suppose some straight men actually went tie shopping, but I never encountered that.