Is it time to debunk the housing myth? | Sheila Long O’Mara


It’s a common refrain among the executives in the mattress and home furnishings industry that the strength of the business lies in part to the strength of the housing market. The belief that home sales drive mattress sales has long been accepted in industry circles.

But maybe, dare I say, that’s not the case. At least one bit of data and market insights points to that belief as being a big fat myth, and it points to other factors like consumer confidence, innovative product and strategic advertising as true catalysts of growth in mattress sales.

Data from TraQline, a market research insights group that studies the durable goods, takes a look at the mattress segment. That research showed shifts in consumer buying patterns: where people shop for beds and why they shop for new mattresses.

No surprise that 65% of consumers shopped for mattresses online, and 47% of them buy online, according to TraQline. While we’ve seen similar numbers in the past, that does represent a 5% increase in online purchasing from the prior year.

Here’s what caught my eye. Only 23% of mattress buyers cited moving to a new home as a reason for their purchase. Read that again: 23% of mattress consumers said a move into a new home prompted them to go buy a new bed. Counter that with 40% that said they needed to replace an old, broken mattress.

Could it be that consumers are more practical in their purchasing decisions? Let’s face it. You can move a mattress from house to house. What you can’t fix is a lumpy, uncomfortable, way-too-old, broken-down mattress.

One bedding chief executive has the same thought about why consumers go out and make a mattress purchase. In Tempur Sealy International’s third quarter call with analysts to discuss the company’s financial results, CEO Scott Thompson said he doesn’t see housing as the primary driver for mattress sales.

Wait, what?

That’s the antithesis of the conversation I have with mattress and home furnishings executives — both retail and manufacturers — in which they say over and over that once the housing market turns so, too, will mattress sales. Bring down interest rates, sell some houses, they say, and we’ll sell mattresses.

Thompson said Tempur Sealy banks on advertising, innovation and consumer confidence as key drivers for sales.

While housing starts may have a peripheral impact, TraQline points to broader economic indicators, including consumer confidence and discretionary spending power to push mattress sales. The TraQline data highlights that higher-income households (those earning $125K or more annually) contributed disproportionately to mattress sales, accounting for 31% of dollars spent.

Maybe it’s time to rethink the narrative beyond housing sales equal mattress sales.

The mattress industry’s growth drivers extend beyond the association with housing trends. The narrative that housing starts directly influence mattress sales often comes across as trite, especially when consumers are saying a new house isn’t their primary drive to purchase.

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