McAndrews goes inside mind of mattress buyers

Everyone wants to know what’s going on inside the mind of mattress buyers. That’s the big idea behind Craig McAndrews’ new Mattress Intelligence Brief.

McAndrews, a veteran bedding retailer and consultant, recently shared the inaugural issue of his brief with me. It has some valuable insights that are especially important in this tough economic climate.

The brief presents survey results from consumers who are in the market for a new mattress, or expect to be in the market in the next 90 days. It looks at several areas: Sleep accessories, advertising messages and mattress spending.

Here’s what McAndrews, an executive with Innovate Retail, says about offering sleep accessories: “Our survey revealed those currently in the market actually expect to buy additional products when they are purchasing a mattress. Although this may not be a surprise to many, the actual number of people might be a shocker. Our survey indicates that 62% of the respondents said they are likely to purchase additional products. These products include sheets (50%), new pillows (50%) and even new bed frames (50%).”

But how to apply those survey results? McAndrews has some thoughts: “Since consumers are actually expecting to purchase these products, the retailers who provide the merchandise and incorporate it into their associates’ presentations will be the ones who will increase their business during tough economic times.”

We’ve been preaching the importance of selling sleep accessories for some time now. We devoted a session at our Bedding Conference to that topic, and we’ve emphasized it in a column or two. We believe in the power of sleep accessories. Here’s why: As everyone knows, store traffic is down. One way to make up for some of that declining traffic is to increase the size of the tickets from those consumers who do buy. That can mean selling a better bed, although the value-oriented price points the big brands are touting may prove tough for consumers to resist. It can also mean adding sleep accessories to the ticket.

Sleep accessories aren’t just good for sales tickets. They are also good for consumers. They add comfort — and can significantly improve sleep. Do you think you would sleep better with a fresh, clean pillow or with a five-year-old pillow filled with yucky things?

In his brief, McAndrews also takes a quick look at mattress advertising messages (finding that 50%-off regular price offers are most likely to entice consumers to shop) and mattress spending (finding that 30% of respondents think a new sleep set will cost $499 or less).

We don’t want to steal all of McAndrews’ thunder, so we won’t share any of his other findings. If you would like to see his brief, e-mail him at craig@innovateretail.com.

Everyone knows the importance of working smarter in this challenging sales climate. Craig McAndrews offers a tool to help retailers do just that.