Is the mattress market going soft? Absolutely. And therein lies a tale … or should we say a column?

We are not just talking about business trends, folks. As we all know, bedding business is poor across much of the country. Sales are soft to nonexistent.

But I'm talking about a different type of softness, the kind that relates to how a mattress feels when you lie down on it. Yes, there is some soft bedding on the market today. And that represents a big change from conventional industry thinking, which holds that soft is a four-letter word, one to be avoided at all costs.

Looking for the opposite of a firm bed? That would be a "gently firm" bed. Or maybe a plush bed. I mean, we could say soft, but we usually don't.

I explored this issue with some executives at Sealy during my tour through that producer's showroom during the recent High Point Market. You have to be careful how you use the term "soft," said Sealy's Mark Wozniak. "Soft" can be taken for a bed that offers no support — i.e., it is too soft. You need to explain that you are still getting support in a "soft" bed, Wozniak noted.

Interestingly, Sealy does just that with its SpringFree Posturepedic line of latex bedding, which carries the intriguing tag line, "Support Never Felt So Soft." There it is, the "S" word.

Sealy says the bedding provides "the perfect blend of firm support and softness." And it also says that latex is "supportive, yet soft." Those messages perfectly illustrate the point that Wozniak was making, that "soft" by itself might give consumers the wrong impression.

Another company using the "S" word is Select Comfort. In its illustration of the differences between the dual comfort offered by its Sleep Number bed, one side of the airbed is labeled "firmer" while the other side is labeled "softer." Select Comfort notes that consumers can select the exact level of comfort they want on a Sleep Number bed. In other words, comfort can be firmer or softer, depending on the user's preference.

That producer and retailer also says that the Sleep Number bed can be adjusted, with the touch of a button, from "featherbed soft to extra firm." That is a powerful way to introduce the "S" word, to equate it with the luxurious plushness of a featherbed, thereby conjuring up pleasant images of mattresses of yesteryear.

The "softness" at Sealy and Select Comfort is telling us that times are changing in Mattress Land. There is life beyond the "firm" ground we have been fearlessly marching upon for all these years.

In this paradigm shift, the industry’s love of the “hard sell” is falling on hard times. There is a powerful — and softer — new way to sell beds.