Mattress retailing 101: Retail Sell the importance of a good night's sleep
Improve bedding's consumer image
David Perry, Bedding Editor -- Furniture Today, September 11, 2007
Retail bedding expert Craig McAndrews made a sobering discovery when he took a close look at how retail sales associates sell bedding: They are four times more likely to talk about specifications and price than the importance of a good night's sleep.
Since a good night's sleep is what consumers really want, the industry is sacrificing that key selling feature when it focuses on specs and prices, he said. That's just one of several sacrifices the industry is forcing consumers to make, thus making it harder to meet consumers' needs.
He made those points in an analysis of retail bedding's problems and opportunities at Furniture/Today's Bedding Conference. His presentation, "Meeting the Challenges on the Retail Sales Floor," was one of the most compelling sessions at the conference, attendees said in their evaluations.
McAndrews has spent 15 years in the mattress industry, on both the wholesale and retail sides. He learned retail as an owner/operator of a chain of specialty stores, and has sharpened his insights with years of study of the bedding shopping and purchase experience. He is co-founder of the Phoenix-based Innovative Retail Group, which supports mattress retailers and producers in delivering an exceptional consumer experience.
All too often, he has found, the industry delivers a consumer experience that falls far short. In fact, he said, consumers often say that buying a new bed is like buying a used car. "That is painful," McAndrews said, "but that is the reality. It's tough."
He's seen that firsthand. During mystery visits to bedding stores, he's heard salespeople consistently deliver wrong information to customers. In one study, nine of 10 sales associates made points that were wrong, he said. He was shocked by some things he heard.
That is one of the consumer disconnects that is hurting the bedding industry, he said, adding that consumers have sacrificed:
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Confidence. There's a lot of confusion in the marketplace about the products. Retail sales associates are spending too much time talking and not enough time showing mattresses to customers. And the retail environments are non-personal and non-emotional, and thus don't connect with consumers.
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Control. It's difficult to navigate the floor of a retail bedding store. The selection of mattresses is a challenge. And consumers find that sales associates attempt to limit their selection by not showing them more than three to five sleep sets.
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Custom communication. Retailers are using a "one size fits all" approach, with 50% of retail sales associates emphasizing product construction and 30% focusing on price. Only 20% of the sales associates talk about how a bed will improve sleep quality. That means that in eight of 10 customer interactions, specifications and price are the key areas of emphasis. "What do we sell?" McAndrews asked. "We are selling sleep, but that only comes up two out of 10 times."
His "big idea" for 2007 is for the industry to move from forcing consumers to make sacrifices to giving them a delightful experience. The key: Provide a "SleepSperience."
He offers several ways retailers can do that:
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In the store, retailers should provide more space and privacy. "Consumers say they want space," he said. "They say, 'I don't want a person standing over me'." Retailers should also carry more sleep-related products. Consumers are spending $20 billion for a good night's sleep, McAndrews said, but retail mattress sales are only slightly more than half of that total. Consumers are using everything from aromatherapy pillows to sleep drugs to biorhythmic alarm clocks to improve their sleep. u In their messages to consumers, retailers need to deliver "personal and engaging marketing messages." They need to spend much more time talking about the importance of sleep, and much less time talking about products and prices.
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Retailers need to "hand over control" of the shopping experience to consumers. He noted that a car dealer in New Jersey has boosted business by giving consumers yellow "just looking" tags that they wear when they are browsing the lot and don't want to be interrupted by salespeople. They take off the tags when they are ready to do business.
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Retailers need to recognize the key role that retail sales associates play in the shopping process. When asked what factors influence consumer buying decisions, 49% of consumers cited the retail sales associate. Price was next, cited by 21% of consumers. That was followed by selection, cited by 17% of consumers, and service, cited by 11% of consumers. And yet, he noted, bedding retail sales associates are emphasizing sleep in only 20% of their interactions with consumers.
McAndrews ended with a challenge to retailers: If consumers had to pay admission to your store, what would you provide to justify that expenditure? He cited a saying by business strategist Larry Wilson, who spoke earlier that day, to illustrate the need for fresh thinking: If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you've always got.
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