Retail mattress sales were strong in June compared to their performance in June 2019, and retailers recorded substantial increases in written orders for the key July Fourth weekend, a new retail survey reveals.
Piper Sandler’s June Mattress Retailer Survey, which represents the views of mattress retailers around the country, found total delivered mattress sales in June up by a mean of 39.9 percent, compared to that same month two years ago. Those figures include sales of foundations and adjustable bases.
The firm calls that a “strong finish” for the second quarter and notes a “highly favorable outlook” for the third quarter.
That June two-year sales growth outpaced mattress retailers’ two-year performance in April, up by a mean of 36.2 percent, and in May, up by a mean of 23.3 percent, the firm says. It adds that it believes the June numbers benefited from a late Memorial Day, which likely pushed Memorial Day sales into June.
Total unit sales in June were up by a mean of 7.2 percent compared to last June, while the total average unit price was up 21.4 percent compared to last June.
Overall, total two-year sales growth in the second quarter was up by a mean of 33 percent.
In an early look at July performance, the survey found retailers reporting that written sales for the July Fourth weekend, a key mattress retail selling period, were up by a mean of 19 percent, compared to the same three-day period last year.
The retailers surveyed say they are expecting double-digit gains to continue in the third quarter and for the full year.
For the third quarter, the retailers are estimating total sales growth of a mean of 14 percent, which is higher than Q3 consensus sales growth estimates for some bedding majors, Piper Sandler says. For the full year, the retailers in the survey say they now estimate total sales growth of a mean of 21 percent, which is essentially in line with retail expectations at the end of Q1.
The survey also looks at the percentage of dollar sales utilizing financing. In the second quarter, that percentage was up to a mean of 31.8 percent, a slight increase from the percentages for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
