What’s in Store for Mattress Retailers This Year

Well, it’s a new year. A fresh start.

A chance to take stock of what’s working for your business and what isn’t. As you’re planning your mattress marketing strategy for 2015, here are four mattress marketing trends to watch for.

Mattress Marketing Trend #1:

More Competition from Online Mattress Retailers

Online shopping is growing rapidly. In 2013, 191.1 million Americans had browsed products, compared prices, or bought merchandise online at least once. These figures are projected to surpass 200 million in 2015, according to Statista Inc.

Traditionally, there has been some resistance from consumers when it comes to buying a mattress online. However, this resistance is beginning to lessen as people are becoming more comfortable shopping online, and digital natives now represent an ever-growing segment of the consumer population.

In 2015, online mattress retailers, like Casper, will continue to stake out their share of the mattress-marketing segment by capitalizing on this trend toward online shopping. In order to compete with online-only retailers, brick-and-mortar mattress stores will need to focus their marketing efforts on increasing their online presence.

Mattress Marketing Trend #2:

Everyone’s Going Mobile

Optimizing your website for mobile viewing is vital in 2015. According to the Pew Research Internet Project, as of January 2014,

• 90% of American adults have a cell phone
• 58% of American adults have a smartphone
• 32% of American adults own an e-reader
• 42% of American adults own a tablet computer

Not only are mobile devices becoming ubiquitous, but they are also increasingly replacing laptop and desktop computers as the primary means of accessing the internet.

According to the same Pew report, 34% of cell internet users go online mostly using their phones, not some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer, and 52% use their smartphones to check email.

The mattress retailers who will get ahead in 2015 are the ones who have a well-thought-out mobile strategy. This means having a responsive website design that ensures your site is as functional (and looks as good) on an iPhone or Android as it is on a laptop. If a potential customer can’t access your website or view your email from their smartphone, they’ll likely move on to your competitor.

Mattress Marketing Trend #3:

Customized Content is King

For years, the inbound marketing battle cry has been “Content is king!” While this is still true for mattress marketing in 2015, the latest marketing trend is toward customized content. As more companies are creating quality content, consumers will become increasingly selective with what marketing content they choose to consume.

It is essential for mattress retailers to target potential buyers with relevant, customized content. This process begins with creating a buyer persona for your business. This is a profile of your prospects who are most likely to become customers. Then you can tailor your inbound marketing efforts to deliver them a customized message at each point along the sales funnel.

Mattress Marketing Trend #4:

A Push Toward Emotion-Driven Mattress Marketing

For years, mattress retailers have relied on “blowout sales events” and “rock-bottom prices” to drum up business.

However, as consumers are becoming better informed and doing more online research prior to making a purchase, they are growing weary of cheap sales tactics. And wary of mattress retailers who promote them.

In 2015, we’ll see a push toward more authentic, emotion-driven mattress marketing. More mattress retailers will focus their inbound marketing strategy and email communication on engaging and educating prospective customers, rather than continually promoting a seemingly unending cycle of price cuts.

We’ll see a shift away from selling mattresses as a necessary (but often undervalued) commodity and toward selling better sleep, better health, a better quality of life, and other emotion-driven benefits.

In order to keep up, mattress retailers must take into account that consumers are increasingly searching online before ever heading out to a store. Consider this. A study conducted by Deloitte Digital found that:

• 84% of store visitors use digital devices before or during a shopping trip
• 22% of consumers spend more as a result of using digital; just over half of these shoppers report spending at least 25% more than they had intended
• 75% of respondents said product information found on social channels influenced their shopping behavior and enhanced loyalty

Mattress retailers can no longer rely on traditional advertising methods that have benefited them in the past.

These mattress-marketing trends are not just fads but are an indication of a shift in the way consumers are now shopping for products. In order to compete in this new digital age, you not only need to have a functional website, but it also needs to provide engaging, interactive, educational content that converts web searchers to prospects, and prospects to customers.

Learn how C5’s all-inclusive 360 inbound marketing system will keep you up to date and thriving in 2015.