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New Consumer Reports ratings have credibility
July 16, 2012
Here we go again. Consumer Reports' latest venture in the mattress arena offers ratings for mattress brands and stores. And once again some big names find themselves on the bottom of the list, while some less well known brands shine. (See related article.)
Specialty sleep powerhouses Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort again earned high scores on overall customer satisfaction. Serta, Sealy and Stearns & Foster bring up the rear of the field.
In its August issue, on newsstands now, the publication rates the top 11 mattress brands and the top 15 mattress retailers. Tempur-Pedic is in the No. 1 spot on the mattress brand list, followed by Original Mattress Factory, the Cleveland-based factory direct operator, and Sleep Number, the airbed line produced and sold by Select Comfort. Those three brands finished in the same order three years ago when Consumer Reports last did its mattress brand ratings.
On the retail list, Original Mattress Factory and Costco maintained the top ratings they earned three years ago. This time, factory-direct Denver Mattress edged ahead of Sleep Train to capture the No. 3 spot. Sleep Train is in the No. 4 position and Sleep Number (Select Comfort) is No. 5.
Three years ago, there were howls of protest from various industry players when they saw the mattress brand and retail lists. Some said Consumer Reports simply doesn't know what it is doing, while others said mattresses are too subjective to be rated in the way that Consumer Reports rates them.
I think those criticisms miss the mark. Consumer Reports based its latest mattress brand ratings on 12,557 responses about mattresses purchased new between 2007 and June 2011. The retail ratings are based on 5,821 shopping experiences at walk-in retailers between 2009 and June 2011, the magazine said. Those are both very big samples.
But Consumer Reports does offer this qualifier: "Findings reflect the experiences of our subscribers but not necessarily those of the general population."
Still, it's not good news that some of the biggest bedding brands are on the bottom of the readers' overall satisfaction lists. Serta, Sealy and Stearns & Foster occupy the bottom three spots on the mattress brand list. That should be a major concern to those brands.
Simmons continues to rank higher than most of its major "S" brand competitors. It is in the No. 6 position on the latest list, followed by Spring Air, which moved up three positions, and Kingsdown. Serta is No. 9, Sealy is No. 10 and Stearns & Foster is No. 11.
On the retail side, Sleepy's, one of the industry's largest players, once again ranks dead last, in the No. 15 position. Needless to say, that's not a good place to be.
Say what you will about the latest ratings, but they do have credibility. This is a major, independent study by a respected company.
Posted by David Perry on July 16, 2012 |
Comments (10)
Industries:
Bedding
, Bedding (Themed)
April 2, 2013
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityManohar Reddy commented:
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August 2, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityMem Foam Buyer commented:
The CR store ratings were useful, but the brand comparisons were useless! Apples and Oranges brand comparison, really. For memory foam, top five are T-P, Serta, Simmons, OMF, and Sealy, consecutively. You can get your best price at a local, non-franchised, furniture store or online, Caveat Emptor!
July 23, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityLisa Stansbury commented:
I wish Consumer Reports did rollator testing. I ask everytime I look at new product if it has been tested.
July 19, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityBedHeadFred commented:
It is a good thing Consumer Reports does not go back and start doing the old roller and Cornell test and check for broken wires and sags. You had better be happy they are just conducting the ad hoc survey. Your scores on those non-flip flops would get low ratings if they went back to the old ways they tested.
July 18, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityBeddingPro commented:
Great to see a company that actually cares about quality and value continually voted number one by Consumer Reports subscribers. Maybe the industry will finally take note that if you make a product of value, people will buy it and recognize you for it. Until then, keep cheapening your way to the bottom!
July 18, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityRobert Fernandez commented:
Craig, You are so right. Can we all say it together, "Spring Air?"
July 17, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityCraig commented:
A lot has changed in a years time. This info being a year old is worthless in todays market. This hurts those manufacturers that have made major changes in the last 12 months and rewards those who have fallen behind the in the curve.
July 16, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityLisa Stansbury commented:
I read that last week. As a retailer, I don't like the "a new boxspring isn't a must" section. We've had quite a few comfort issues when they didn't replace one. Also, dustmites, why wouldn't you want a new one?!
I would have liked for them to elaborate more on each brand.
Also their "Hint: Stores keep the priciest models up front." I don't. I keep low end in the front so they don't have sticker shock and run.
July 16, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilitySteve commented:
It just goes to show that if you continue to use cheap material it will come back and bite you in the you know what. Alot of these "S" guys are using fiberfill & densified fiber as padding where before they would use high density foam, fiber collapses easily but looks nice on the sales floor. As a manufacturer I have seen this first hand on various occasions.
July 16, 2012
In response to:
New Consumer Reports ratings have credibilityRob Saltzer commented:
In all fairness the study is skewed at best,
if not significantly flawed. For example, if the brand part of the study was conducted between 2007 and 2011, for most of that time, Spring Air was an entirely different company than it is today. So basing that dated information for consumers, who are reading it in 2012, provides a gross misrepresentation to the readers. Good thing they didn't rate IBC, because today,that would have made it really tough on its readership.
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