Ikea uses creative signage to stir strong bedding sales
David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, 11/17/2008 12:00:00 AM
Looking for a home furnishings store with booming traffic, interesting sleep sets and lots of excited customers? Look no further than Ikea. I spent several hours one recent Sunday afternoon at Ikea's thriving store in Atlanta, admiring once again the retailing phenomenon that Ikea has unleashed in the United States. Of course I paid careful attention to the mattress department. Do you think your trusty bedding editor takes Sundays off?
As mattress retailers everywhere struggle to attract customers and close sales in this poor economic climate, Ikea stands like a shining beacon on the Road to Success. It has built a reputation as a fun place to shop, combining savvy merchandising, great prices, good food and clever promotions to stand apart from the pack.
On the day of my visit, the mattress department hosted a steady stream of customers who plopped down on the two dozen beds on display. There were no sales associates on duty in the department, but this is a self-service operation. And that means the signage — on the walls, on banners hanging over the beds, and on display columns describing the types of mattresses on the floor — took center stage.
One prominent message was the number 25, as in “everyday quality, limited warranty, 25 years.” You are well aware that I'm not a fan of that approach, which encourages consumers to hang onto tired, worn-out beds for years, but at least Ikea offers a “limited warranty.” That clues consumers in that this is not a bulletproof guarantee of product life.
I am a fan of Ikea's “three simple steps to a good night's sleep,” a message given prominent play. Step one: Choose your comfort. Step two: Find the size best for you. Step three: “Lie down and try it out.”
The beds were merchandised by color codes, with yellow representing latex, green representing foam and orange representing innerspring models. Color is a great tool for setting mattress lines apart.
Ikea has a chart of heights and body weights that it translates into bed recommendations. It recommends the firmest mattresses for the heaviest consumers, and the least firm mattresses for the lightest consumers. That's a clever approach, but one that won't work for all consumers.
Some of the beds were topped with removable pillowtops, filled with fibers, lamb's wool, memory foam or latex, and retailing from $50 to $299 in queen. Ikea says in its mattress catalog that the pillowtops are “easy to air out and are an affordable way to refresh a bed.” Remember the advantages of selling sleep accessories.
As I looked at all of the consumer education messages, I wondered if there might be a lesson for full-service mattress retailers. Wouldn't some basic product education and mattress selection advice be useful on the walls of their stores? Before you dismiss the idea, ask yourself this question: Are you happy with your mattress sales these days?
Contact David Perry at dperry@reedbusiness.com
