Choosing a mattress retailer

More than four-fifths of mattresses, in terms of retail sales, were together sold through bedding specialty stores and furniture stores last year. That’s according to Furniture/Today’s 2009 Bedding Distribution Report. The bedding specialty store channel had a 42% market share in 2008, while furniture stores owned a 39% share.

These figures, along with market share figures for five other distribution channels, including department stores and warehouse membership clubs, published in Furniture/Today’s Bedding Distribution Channel Report, a once-every-other-year look at the leading retail channels of mattress distribution. This report printed in the July 27, 2009, issue and can be accessed online through our Research Store.

Earlier in the year, Furniture/Today asked consumers what influenced where they shopped for a new mattress. This question was part of our exclusive Bedding Consumer Survey which fielded in partnership with HGTV in February. It received responses from more than 2,000 U.S. consumers.

The number one influence in choosing where to shop was great prices - cited by half of respondents. Great prices, of course, are entirely dependent upon how each individual defines the word great. In order to help define the price issue, the survey asked the highest price buyers would consider for a queen-size bed in the master bedroom. One-third of consumers said they’d consider a price between $750 and $999 and another third would consider spending $1,000 or more. Sounds great!

Word of mouth influencers were also huge in the consumer’s mind. The store’s reputation was important to 41% of respondents, while advice from family and friends was cited as an influence by 29% of respondents.

Nearly one-fourth of consumers said they choose a mattress retailer because of the brands they carry and another fourth shop a certain retailer because of online research they’ve conducted themselves.

An ad in the newspaper influenced 17% of surveyed consumers and an ad on TV influenced only 11%.