In an age where consumers can buy almost anything online with a few clicks, brick-and-mortar stores need to provide more than just products—they need to offer experiences. This is especially true for the mattress industry, where experiential retail practices can make all the difference in helping customers find the perfect sleep solution and leave with a lasting impression.
For many customers, purchasing a mattress can be a significant investment. They are not just buying a product—they are looking for an improvement in their quality of life. By embracing experiential retail practices, mattress retailers can create engaging, immersive experiences that go beyond traditional sales and foster deeper connections with customers. In this blog post, we’ll explore key experiential retail strategies for the mattress industry and how they can be used to enhance the shopping journey.
Create Interactive Showrooms
In today’s retail landscape, customers don’t just want to browse—they want to engage with products in meaningful ways. Creating interactive showrooms where customers can touch, feel, and test mattresses in a relaxing environment is essential for enhancing the shopping experience. Allow customers to spend time testing mattresses without pressure and provide them with the information and tools they need to make informed decisions.
How to Build an Interactive Mattress Showroom:
- Encourage Hands-On Testing: Allow customers to test different mattress models in a variety of setups, including adjustable bases, pillows, and bedding. Encourage them to lie down and spend time on each mattress to understand the feel and support.
- Create Sleep Simulations: Use ambient lighting, soundscapes, and temperature controls to simulate different sleep environments. Customers can see how the mattress performs in various conditions, giving them confidence in their purchase.
- Utilize Touchscreens for Customization: Incorporate touchscreens or tablets in-store where customers can input their sleep preferences and receive mattress recommendations tailored to their needs. This tech-driven approach adds a personalized touch to the shopping journey.
Example: Casper Sleep Shops create a relaxing atmosphere by encouraging customers to test mattresses in private nap pods, giving them the chance to truly experience the comfort of their products before making a purchase.
Offer Personalized Sleep Consultations
One of the most effective experiential retail strategies is offering personalized consultations to help customers find the best sleep solution. Trained sales associates, often referred to as Sleep Specialists, can guide customers through the process, helping them understand how different mattresses, pillows, and bedding products contribute to a better night’s sleep. Personalized service helps customers feel confident in their purchase and fosters trust with the retailer.
How Personalized Consultations Add Value:
- Assess Individual Sleep Needs: During a one-on-one consultation, Sleep Specialists can ask about customers’ sleep habits, preferences, and pain points, such as back pain or overheating, and recommend mattresses that address these concerns.
- Educate Customers: Sleep consultations provide an opportunity to educate customers on the materials, technologies, and benefits of different mattress models. Offering guidance on factors like firmness levels, support, and sleep positions makes the shopping experience more informative and less overwhelming.
- Build Relationships: Personalized consultations create a sense of trust and rapport between the customer and retailer. Customers feel more confident that the mattress they’re purchasing is suited to their specific needs, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
Example: Sleep Number stores provide a personalized in-store experience using SleepIQ technology that assesses customers’ sleep patterns and body data, enabling the sales team to recommend the perfect mattress.
Incorporate Technology for Customization
The use of technology in experiential retail can enhance the personalization and customization options available to customers. For mattress retailers, integrating sleep technology into the shopping journey can make the experience more engaging and interactive. Whether it’s through smart mattresses, sleep trackers, or virtual simulations, technology can help customers make more informed decisions and feel confident about their purchases.
How Technology Enhances the Mattress Shopping Experience:
- Smart Mattress Demonstrations: Offer live demonstrations of smart mattresses that can adjust firmness and support levels in real-time based on customer preferences. Let customers experience how the mattress responds to their body movements.
- Sleep Trackers and Analytics: Use sleep tracker technology to gather data on customers’ sleep patterns, body temperature, and pressure points. This information can then be used to recommend the best mattress and bedding solutions for their unique needs.
- Virtual Reality (VR) Simulations: Some retailers are incorporating VR into the shopping journey, allowing customers to visualize how the mattress would feel in different bedroom settings or under various conditions, such as different temperatures or sleeping positions.
Example: Hästens offers high-tech sleep experiences where customers are guided through a multi-sensory experience using their smart mattress technology to tailor comfort levels to individual preferences.
Curate the Full Sleep Experience
As we’ve mentioned before, the mattress is only one part of the sleep experience. To create a truly immersive and memorable retail experience, mattress stores should curate the full sleep environment by offering complementary bedding products like pillows, sheets, duvets, and mattress toppers. By doing so, retailers not only increase the overall sale but also provide customers with a one-stop shop for all their sleep needs.
How to Curate the Full Sleep Experience:
- Showcase Bedding Products: Arrange your showroom to display bedding products alongside mattresses, creating fully styled sleep environments. Let customers feel and compare different bedding materials such as cooling sheets, organic cotton, or weighted blankets.
- Offer Product Bundles: Create bundled offers that include a mattress, pillows, and bedding products. These packages can cater to specific needs, such as cooling sleep solutions or luxury comfort packages, allowing customers to walk away with everything they need for the perfect sleep setup.
- Personalize Sleep Solutions: During consultations, recommend bedding products tailored to the customer’s sleep preferences. For example, if a customer is a hot sleeper, suggest cooling sheets and moisture-wicking pillows that complement the mattress.
Example: Parachute Home not only sells mattresses but also offers a full range of bedding products. Their stores are designed to showcase complete sleep setups, helping customers envision how different products work together to create the ideal sleep environment.
Offer In-Store Sleep Trials and Sleep Pods
One of the key concerns customers have when purchasing a mattress is whether they’ll like it once they get home. To alleviate this concern and provide a more immersive experience, some mattress retailers are offering in-store sleep trials where customers can test mattresses in sleep pods or private rooms for an extended period. This allows customers to fully experience the mattress before committing to the purchase.
How In-Store Sleep Trials Work:
- Private Sleep Pods: Create comfortable, private sleep pods or rooms where customers can relax and even nap while testing the mattress. Allow them to spend 15-30 minutes experiencing the feel and support of the mattress in a distraction-free environment.
- Nighttime Store Events: Some retailers host overnight events or special promotions where customers can sleep in the store to fully test the mattress. This unique, immersive experience helps build customer confidence in their purchase decision.
Example: Casper Dreamery in New York offers customers the opportunity to take 45-minute naps in private nap pods featuring their mattresses, giving them a more immersive trial experience before purchasing.
Host Sleep Workshops and Wellness Events
To create a community-focused shopping experience, mattress retailers can host sleep workshops and wellness events that educate customers on the importance of sleep and offer tips for improving sleep quality. These events not only help build brand awareness but also position your store as a trusted resource for all things related to sleep.
Ideas for Sleep-Focused Events:
- Sleep Health Workshops: Invite sleep experts or health professionals to host workshops on topics such as sleep hygiene, stress reduction techniques, or the benefits of different sleep positions. These events can engage customers and build a sense of community around your brand.
- Wellness Events: Partner with wellness brands to offer in-store yoga sessions, meditation classes, or aromatherapy workshops. These events can enhance the overall sleep experience and provide additional value to customers.
- Product Demonstrations: Host live demonstrations of your mattresses and bedding products, highlighting the features that contribute to better sleep, such as cooling fabrics, pressure relief technology, or adjustable bases.
Example: Leesa frequently hosts community events and pop-up shops focused on wellness, where customers can test mattresses, attend sleep workshops, and learn about healthy sleep habits.
Conclusion: Embrace Experiential Retail to Elevate the Mattress Shopping Journey
In an increasingly competitive market, experiential retail practices provide mattress retailers with the opportunity to differentiate themselves by offering immersive, personalized, and engaging shopping experiences. By incorporating interactive showrooms, personalized sleep consultations, technology-driven customization, and full sleep solutions, retailers can create a memorable shopping journey that leaves a lasting impression on customers.
Embrace these experiential retail strategies to transform your store into more than just a place to buy mattresses—it becomes a destination for discovering the perfect sleep experience.