Online Mattresses – The New eCommerce Craze

For generations, mattresses have been traditionally sold in a store where you can try them out and speak with a sales rep. It was the most obvious product which required in-store sales because who wouldn’t want to try something that was expensive and important to their everyday life. Thus, it was not considered a hot item for eCommerce for most of the last two decades of eCommerce. However, over the last 5 years, online brands have exploded selling direct to consumer via cheaper prices, high-quality products, and simple return policies, so that you could try out a bed before being fully committed. Utilizing YouTubers and Instagram influencers alike, many of these mattress companies have been taking advantage of the power of influencer marketing to get their products to reach all different kinds of audiences.
The advantages of direct to consumer are enormous. You cut out the middleman increasing margins, allowing for more money to be spent on product development and marketing. Thus, brands like Casper, The Leesa, and many more have had extraordinary growth in this space. Traditional mattress sellers have been left flat-footed, assuming online sales were not the best way to sell mattresses.
Let’s look at some of the top online eCommerce mattress sellers to see what they are doing to grow so fast!

Casper

Casper is one of the first and most popular pure eCommerce plays in the mattress space. They used to only have one mattress that was around 900 for a queen, a pretty competitive price. They now have three options with varying ranges in prices.
Casper did a great job getting out in the market early and promoting its great price on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They deliver reasonably quick, have good reviews, and ship in an easy to use a box for easy unwrapping and setup. They are certainly one of the leaders in the space today.

Leesa

Leesa is one of the other large players that started early in the online mattress craze. Leesa is similar to Casper in price point and its frankly hard to tell from their website why they are any different. They do a donations program so they are doing some corporate good which you can see on their Why Leesa pages as they compare to the other providers online.

Eight Sleep

Eight sleep is a smart mattress. They are a tech company that makes mattresses. “At Eight, we believe that technology can measure, understand, and optimize the way you sleep for the ultimate goal of a healthy and happier life”. You can connect your Eight mattress to your smart home. Let it turn off your lights when you doze off or brew your coffee when you wake up.  Their three price points are $699, $999, and $1299. The mattresses ship in a box and they offer a 100 night no hassle return if you are unsatisfied. The company is fairly new, being just 4 years old. They promote a healthy night’s sleep is the start to a healthy life.

Lull

Lull is foam mattress company, promoting high-quality products and a great night’s sleep. Their approach is, factory direct to consumer. They cut out the traditional middleman and retailer markup to provide the best quality product at the lowest price. Like Eight they offer a 100 night trial with a no-hassle return. Given their F2C model Lull has lower price points with a Twin at $450 to a California King at $850. They also offer a few wood and metal frame options.

Helix

Helix is a customizable mattress that takes all the individual pieces of a mattress and lets you design your own product. You like a firm mattress your partner likes a soft one, done! You both get hot at night, extra layers to keep the mattress cool, done! Also shipped in a box and a 100-night sleep trial offered. They fall into the averages of price points which is impressive with the amount of customization available. The twins start at $600 to the Cal king at $1245

Tuft & Needle

T&N takes the foam mattress and simplifies it. As they say on their website “Some companies would have you believe “the more layers, the better.” We have chosen to focus on the quality of the layers instead of the number and refuse to include benefit-less foams in our mattress just as an excuse to charge you more. If the foam doesn’t improve the feel or airflow, you won’t find it in our mattress. Like the rest, the mattress ships in a box and they offer a 100 night trial with no hassle returns. T&N offer other bedding and frames also. Their prices are some of the lowest on this list with twin mattresses starting at $325 to Cal king at $700

Saatva

Saatva is a more traditionally made mattress with coil spring base, with foam layers and individually wrapped coils and a pillow top. They state that comparable mattresses constructed like theirs sell for more than $1000 more than theirs. Assuming the direct to consumer model saves them the markup. The prices are $599 to $1399  for mattress only. They offer a foundation along with the mattress making the price $758 to $1717. They also offer what they call a white glove delivery and set up and a 120-night trial.

Bear

Bear offers two mattress options. They have the Eco-friendly foam mattress starting at $540 to $940 with bedding and pillows available. The hybrid coil and foam mattress is available in three sizes from $1350 to $1650. Promoting full recovery from the day on their Eco-friendly products is their angle. They streamline the supply chain to offer the highest quality products and environmentally conscious. “Utilizing CertiPUR-US® certified foams and a water-based bonding solution, the Hybrid mattress is eco-friendly and has little to no smell”. Also offering a 100-night trial and free returns.

Purple

Purple, as they say, is “science you can sleep on”. Purple is a different mattress from the rest of the list. With a patented “Comfort Grid” adapts to the unique shape of your body to dynamically relieve pressure on your joints, points, bumps, and edges. Along with foam layers, to keep you cool and stop-motion transfer. They also offer a similar mattress with coils. There are many different price point options available, with three different thicknesses of comfort grid, 2”, 3” and 4”  At one of the highest price on the list, twins start at $1299 to $3499. Viral marketing is an advantage of the Purple brand, with a viral ad on youtube the brand was built up by creatively showcasing their sleep science technology.