The traditional way of buying a mattress requires visiting a store and trying out beds in person. Online sales of mattresses and beds started a decade ago, but the trend has taken off in the past couple of years, with the first bed-in-a-box companies hitting the market. Online bed and mattress sales are now surpassing brick and mortar store sales, according to reports. Let’s look at the hard data behind this trend before sharing the reasons for this shift.
The Hard Data
The National Bed Federation surveys consumers twice a year to gauge customer sentiments and understand their buying habits. Their February 2018 study found that 51 percent of bed purchases were made online, while 47 percent bought the mattress in the store.
Online bed sales have become the norm in the West, while they account for around ten percent of mattress sales in the world as of 2018. And that share is only expected to grow as the public gets used to buying beds online. The United States has the highest ratio of online mattress sales. The UK and Germany have the highest ratio of online sales of mattresses and bedding in Europe.
Over 55s are buying mattresses and beds online just as often as younger buyers. Older customers are more likely to buy just the mattress than younger customers. Nearly two-thirds of those over 55 buy just a mattress, whereas 45 percent of those under 35 buy only the mattress.
However, the older customers are more likely to own a bed frame they want to keep. Younger buyers may be buying their first bed or upgrading from a futon to a queen bed. This is why younger buyers spend on average much more on a bed than older buyers.
The Biggest Changes in the Bedding Industry
The bedding industry is so large that it is attracting new suppliers to the market. Online only mattress companies are one new source of competition for brick and mortar companies. Non-furniture retailers have entered this space, too.
They’re trying to profit from a tried and true product that’s getting attention due to the new focus on sleep quality and the impact one’s mattress has on it. It is forcing many brick and mortar companies to offer mattresses through an online store. They’re also competing with mattress manufacturers selling through their own website, increasingly bypassing retail stores.
How the Bedding Industry Is Changing
Online bedding companies have evolved to keep up with their customers, and they invest in innovative marketing methods to reach customers who are now researching and buying beds online.
For example, Happy Beds’ creative bed competition lets kids submit bed designs. The creators of the top ten designs will get a free bean bag for their bedroom. This gives children the ability to express their artistic vision, while contests are social media marketing gold.
Traditional mattress and bed retailers are moving to a brick and click model, allowing people to buy online and pick up from the store or have the mattress they buy online delivered by the retail outlet. They have to take advantage of e-commerce channels because sales at both national bed chains and independent bed stores are down.
Ecommerce is dramatically altering the marketplace. This is even true in traditional industries like mattress sales where the underlying product hasn’t really changed. Retailers have to keep up if they want to stay in business.
