The U.S. mattress sector is struggling, and companies lagging behind the shift to e-commerce are taking the brunt of the hit.
Mattresses are often bought by recent homebuyers, so a slow housing market is currently slowing the mattress market. Brick-and-mortar storefronts are suffering the most because mattress demand has recently shifted toward online sales. As shown below, the ‘mattress-in-a-box' model has risen in popularity – while only 27% of consumers would purchase a mattress online in 2016, 47% would do so in 2020. Younger consumers, who tend to prefer online shopping, are driving this change.
The pandemic is behind much of the shift toward digital storefronts. The decreased foot traffic was the final nail in the coffin for many in-person mattress locations, while brands with a digital presence came out ahead. Although most stores have reopened, customers’ shopping habits have changed – they are now willing to purchase a mattress online, without feeling it first.
Crucially, the digital shift has equalized competition between domestic and foreign mattress brands. In particular, Chinese exporters often sell through Amazon rather than setting up a U.S. storefront because it minimizes the length of the supply chain, cutting costs. On Amazon, a Queen size mattress from China can thus sell for less than $175 – a marked bargain compared to the average price of around $1,000. The consequence of consumers’ savings on mattresses, though, is that domestic mattress producers are losing market share and hence cutting jobs. Given the globalized nature of the online market, domestic manufacturers must cut costs and keep up with the digital transition – or be outcompeted.
Source: Berger, WSJ; Blinder, Consumer Affairs; Stoffers, Entrepreneur
Victoria Freeman is a Collegiate Associate at the Manhattan Institute
Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
Photo by onurdongel/Getty Images
