Two-year-old online mattress startup Casper is quietly planning to open physical stores, according to a series of ads for executives discovered by the New York Post. The Casper job postings include a director of retail to “build, launch our retail store fleet,” a director of wholesale, a hospitality partnership manager and two dozen other positions worldwide needed for a brick-and-mortar strategy. Casper inked a tie-up with Williams Sonoma-owned furniture retailer West Elm earlier this year, and has also run a series of pop-up stores in Los Angeles, New York and London. Casper, like rivals Lessa, Yogabed and Tuft & Needle, has disrupted the mattress industry by scaling back the profusion of mattress types, qualities, prices and sellers to offer a lean list of equally priced mattresses. These upstarts are grabbing a growing amount of the $14.2 billion retail mattress industry, which for years has taken the opposite tack — providing consumers with a hodgepodge of mattress types and price points that make comparison shopping between mattress stores and department stores nearly impossible.
Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons made 70% of bedding wholesale shipments in 2014, when half of the industry’s revenue growth came from price increases. The success of e-commerce mattress retailers depends in large part on a model that allows them to inexpensively ship a mattress in a box so that it slowly unfolds until it’s ready to fit on a bed. But online sales may be hitting their limit in a retail space where many shoppers still head to stores to bounce, lie down and try to imagine how the mattress will feel at home. Casper’s return guarantee may not be cutting it with those customers that want to see and touch the goods before plunking down payment. Indeed, the advantage of brick and mortar is proving irresistible to once pure-play online retailers like Warby Parker and Bonobos, which have both chosen to expand their physical locations. The trend is the fulfillment of L2’s contention earlier this year that pure-play e-commerce is not viable for success. Many pure-play ventures are well aware of the need for brick-and-mortar;
two-thirds of venture capital-backed e-retailers raised funds “with the explicit purpose of building stores,” according to that report. Best Mattress Buy Under $800! A unique combination of support and comfort, at a price that won't keep you up at night! *See store for more details Balance 1.0 Self-Leveling Pillow Balance 2.0 Self-Leveling Pillow Balance 3.0 Self-Leveling Pillow BedWorks™ Grand Vitae® Luxury PillowTempur-Pedic® is like no other mattress because TEMPUR® material is not typical memory foam. Our proprietary formulation has changed the way the world sleeps, and it can do the same for you. Since introducing its Perfect Sleeper® mattress in 1931, Serta has brought many "firsts" to the industry, including its breakthrough iComfort® Sleep System, featuring its latest in gel memory foam technology. Pioneers in comfort innovation, Zinus is dedicated to helping people discover better sleep with their patented compressed and rolled mattresses, one of the first in the market almost 20 years ago.
For over 100 years, Australia's A.H. Beard has been the premier supplier of best-in-class luxury mattresses throughout the world. Foam encasement technology and a robust, heavy-duty wood foundation let you rest easy knowing that your HD Super Duty® mattress will perform soundly, night after night. From the packaging and products to people and the core company philosophy, Enso is devoted to using natural technologies and providing the best experience possible to everyone who touches the brand Since 1975, InnoMax® has been an internationally recognized manufacturer serving wholesalers, retailers and internet-based companies with over 1200 innovative, stylish and affordable products. Aerus® foams have a chemically enhanced open-cell structure and slow-recovery technology that offers breathability, maximum comfort, support and durability.If you are shopping for a new bed, you’ve most likely wondered whether buying a mattress online or in a showroom yields better results. Sure, you know it’s a good idea to look up mattress reviews online and do research, but what about the actual purchase?
Well we’ve done some surveying and researching, and the results may surprise you.It may seem like common sense that trying out a mattress before buying would be helpful in picking a satisfactory model. However, evidence contradicts this thought. In our survey, people that bought a mattress they tried in a showroom were satisfied 71% of the time. In contrast, people that reported buying a mattress online expressed satisfaction at a rate of 78%. In the chart below, we break the results down by mattress type, showing that every type of mattress rates higher for online purchases. What this means is that you a more likely to find satisfaction buying a mattress online, without evening testing out. But why is that? One recent scientific study from Research Triangle International even indicated that laying on a bed is not a good method for determining sleep comfort. Summarized, “Results indicate that standard showroom testing does not lead individuals to select the bed that will provide their best sleep..,” (Hogan et al., p. 9).
Participants that self-selected their mattresses reported lower sleep quality than the beds selected using an actigraph (motion measuring device). The authors of the study explain the phenomenon as a result of the various changes the body goes through during the night. What feels soft or comfortable when we are wake may not as we cycle through sleep. They concluded that the typical showroom experience leads shoppers to choose mattresses that are less than optimal for comfort and sleep.As the study indicated, many factors influence us in a mattress showroom – from the salesman, to mattress looks, to merchandising, and more. Spending 15 minutes on a bed simply is not enough to know how your body will react to it as you sleep. Buying a mattress online, however, provides several benefits than can help people make smarter decisions and improve chances of quality sleep.Online shopping allows you to check out a variety of websites, research and compare the features of individual models, assess reviews, and look for alternatives.
In a store, people often want to choose quickly and can only compare a limited number of options. This can also be good for busy couples, as the internet never closes.On a website, if you don’t like the pitch you can simply click away. Many reputable online retailers still have salespeople available to assist customers, but you don’t have to initiate a conversation until you are ready and informed. In a showroom, people often find themselves at the mercy of pushy or slick salespeople that may direct them to a regrettable decision.Online mattress retailers often compensate for customers’ inability try out mattresses by offering extended return policies. Many have at least 30 days during which you can test the mattress and make sure it is a good fit. Just make sure to check the terms of the trial period, as you may be responsible for shipping or restocking fees. Showrooms often have no or very short return periods, and also charge restocking fees.Buying a mattress online also yields monetary benefits.
Because they lack the high markup of retail showrooms, mattress websites typically offer cheaper prices even considering shipping costs. What’s more, if they are located out of state you won’t have to pay sales tax. In our example, we take a look at memory foam. Online, an average quality memory foam mattress might cost around $859. In a showroom, a similar bed costs $3089. The showroom bed also adds 7% for tax, now $3305. That is a price difference of 74%!, Showroom price from TempurpedicInnerspring Mattresses – US Mattress. The US Mattress website retails a wide range of brands, though they have some of the best deals on the innerspring mattress brands like Serta and Simmons. They also offer specialty beds, but due to MSRP arrangements most are priced similarly to showrooms.Memory Foam Mattresses – Amerisleep. Amerisleep retails plant-based memory foam shown to sleep cooler and provide quicker response time than traditional foams, and the company’s beds are American made. Their pricing is very reasonable compared to similar brands like Tempur-pedic.Latex Mattresses – Astrabeds.