Do your customers care if a mattress is one- or two-sided?

David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 14, 2007

Today’s topic: What about those single-sided beds?

Overview: Simmons was the first bedding major to introduce single-sided beds, which it did back in 2000. Over time, most of the other major players followed. Today, most of the mattresses sold are single-sided beds, a trend that is expected to gain even more momentum as new FR bedding lines are introduced, because it is more expensive to provide FR protection on two-sided beds. Many consumers never turned their beds anyway, so the single-sided beds are popular with many consumers.

Challenges: There have been horror stories told of consumers who turned single-sided beds over, thinking they should be turned, and then were unhappy with how their bed felt. Consumers must be educated about the single-sided beds, which are not simply half a mattress, as some claimed before single-sided beds gained wide popularity. Also, there are still some consumers who prefer traditional two-sided mattresses.

Opportunities: Consumers love learning that their beds don’t have to be turned. This is especially welcome news to consumers who may have bad backs and don’t relish the physical challenge of turning the bed. Many stores don’t offer much in the way of two-sided mattresses anymore, so those consumers have no choices to make in that area.

What sales associates say:

Consumer education is critical: "Well, a lot of people who haven’t bought a mattress in a long time still think that the two-sided mattresses are still available. You have to educate the customer and let them know that these new non-flip mattresses are of higher quality. We found that most people never flipped their mattress anyway."

One less thing to worry about: "Most don’t know there has been a change. Many of my customers have had two-sided mattresses and never bothered to turn them anyway. This is just one more thing they don’t have to worry about."

Consumers are thrilled: "My customers are almost always thrilled to hear that all of our mattresses are one-sided. They confess that they rarely flip their two-sided mattresses and complain about how hard it is to do. When I explain that mattresses are now being made so that they never have to be flipped, my customers are usually thrilled."

Relief for sore backs: "Customers seem to love the idea that the beds are now one-sided and don’t have to be turned. It is a great selling point; time is a big issue for most people today. So not having to turn a mattress again makes people happy. Also, no lifting helps people when their backs start feeling better now that they are on a good mattress."

Old beliefs linger: "It’s a little harder for older consumers to adjust to not flipping their beds. It is a relief for people with back pain who no longer need to turn over a king or queen-sized bed. This is becoming less and less of an issue. The one-sided beds have been out there for a number of years."

Maintenance-free beds are a plus: "My customers want a bed that they don’t have to do too much with, and the idea of a maintenance-free bed is very appealing to them."