Sleep Spa: Time to change the shopping experience
David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2009
Have you heard about Her Sleep Spa?
It's a female-friendly store that sells mattresses, pillows, comforters, candles, pajamas and soothing CDs. It offers a spa-like lounge just inside the front door. There, female consumers unwind to the melodies of Enya while sipping herbal teas and nibbling on apple slices, carrots and broccoli spears. The walls of the lounge feature testimonials from satisfied consumers.
A hostess helps the ladies get comfortable and passes out a colorful sleep menu. The starters, all under $50, include candles, pillows and CDs. The main courses are the mattresses. Each bed is pictured, and a complete list of materials is included. Each bed comes with a testimonial from a consumer who says how the bed changed her life.
Shoppers aren't allowed on the sales floor until they have studied the menu.
All of the sales associates on the floor are women. They are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. They expertly guide the consumers through the process of finding the best sleep set for them. The close rate for this very different type of mattress store is high. So is the average sales ticket.
Does all this sound too good to be true? It just might be. Right now, this store exists only in my imagination, and in the minds of one or two other bedding insiders with whom I've discussed the concept. Mattress retailers may be implementing some of these ideas, in one way or another, but I'm not aware of stores that have put the whole package together in this way.
I do think a female-oriented mattress store offers considerable potential. And, of course, it can't be just another mattress store. “Her Cheap Mattress Store” is not a good name. Neither is “Her No-Interest for Five Years Bed Emporium.” But “Her Sleep Spa” lets her know this is a different kind of sleep store, and, importantly, that the experience is all about her.
Some of my thinking here is influenced by Kurt Ling, the president of Customer Kinetics, a customer experience firm. He says that names matter. Doctors don't advertise deep discounts, he noted, because that would undermine their professional image. I think he's onto something.
That's how I came up with “Her Sleep Spa.” It recognizes that the consumer is a she, and it promises a pleasant experience — a sleep spa. Females might actually want to visit a store like that.
I'm sure the critics will shoot holes in this concept. They will say it all sounds good but that it's too “soft” an approach. My response: We desperately need to change the mattress shopping experience. Consumers tell us that time and time again. So find something here that works for your company. Don't be afraid to try some new ideas. Focus on your target consumer. She will reward you with sales.
Contact David Perry at dperry@reedbusiness.com
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