Robotic massage chairs no longer ‘shake and bake'

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, March 4, 2013

HIGH POINT - Not all that many years ago, reclining chairs that included heat and massage units were derisively called "shake and bake" chairs.
     And if you ever sat down in one and flipped the switch, it was easy to understand why that unflattering nickname stuck.
     But most of today's high tech robotic massage chairs neither shake nor bake, but do deliver massages that are soothing, relaxing and invigorating.
     Employing complex electronics that are the result of millions of dollars in research and development, most chairs can be programmed to massage specific areas of the body - literally from head to toe - at a specific speed and intensity. And many even offer a choice of massage styles that range from Swedish to Shiatsu.
     "We almost take for granted what our chairs can offer because you can't see all the technology that's inside," said Andrew Cohen, president of Human Touch, a resource for massage chairs for more than three decades. "But these are truly well-designed, high-tech products."
     In other words, we're a long way from the shake and bake days.
     "It all goes back to the benefits these chairs can deliver," Cohen said. "Once people understand that, price is not a huge barrier."
     That's quite a statement considering that massage chairs from Human Touch and its major competitors typically retail for $2,000 to more than $8,000.
     "Our business continues to explode," said Bob Bruns, president of Cozzia USA, which entered the U.S. market about 18 months ago. "We've been able to generate some good ‘buzz' with some major retailers and that has helped us land a lot of new accounts."
     Cliff Levin, president of Inada USA, said his company also is doing a brisk business, even though his line is priced at the upper end of what already is a high-end product.
     "We haven't really focused on the fact that we are an electronics product," Levin said. "But we're starting to promote that. It's going to be a really aggressive push."
     Levin and other executives agreed that while price may not be a major barrier, the complexity of the chair's control system can be.
     Most use a wand or similar remote control device to operate the chairs, and they admit the array of buttons can be intimidating and confusing - even to an experienced retail sales associate. That's why they're putting more emphasis on retail sales training and working to demystify the controllers.
     "Our desire is to simplify the controls radically," Levin said. "You shouldn't have to be an electrical engineer to operate the device."
     Cohen agreed, noting that Human Touch recently has added a diagram of the body to its controller so the user can simply touch the diagram on the area of the body he or she wants to massage. Above the diagram is the question, "Where do you want to feel better today?" (Cohen says foot and calf massages are the most popular.)
     "We're improving the user interface so that the touch of one button will deliver the massage you want," he said.

The most popular chair in the Human Touch line is the ZeroG 4.0, which provides a variety of massages and can move to the zero gravity position.
Cozzia USA’s newest chair offers Swedish, Thai, Chinese and Shiatsu massages and a variety of speeds and intensities.
The DreamWave chair from Inada USA includes a proprietary body scanning feature that matches the massage to the user’s individual needs.