As Better Sleep Month kicks off the summer selling season, we offer ideas for add-on sales, ambience

Mary Best
Editor in chief

As I’m sure you know, May is better sleep month, an annual industrywide public-relations campaign sponsored by the Better Sleep Council (the consumer-education arm of the International Sleep Products Association) that raises awareness about the importance of sleeping on a quality mattress for a healthy, productive life.

In addition to television appearances and a podcast by BSC spokeswomen Lissa Coffey and Terry Cralle, which we reported on in April’s Sleep Savvy, the BSC has added two more features to augment this year’s campaign. Look for an amusing video in which a focus group reaches an astounding solution to their sleep problems—a new mattress. Check it out at youtube.com/BetterSleeporg. Also on tap is a new consumer poll surveying Americans’ attitudes toward sleep. Visit www.bettersleep.org and read our July/
August issue for the scoop.

Besides publicizing the vital role sleep plays in our lives, Better Sleep Month is designed to kick off the summer selling season and provide you with a promotional theme that you can use in your marketing programs.

Here at Sleep Savvy, we decided to celebrate Better Sleep Month by focusing on the importance of creating a sleep sanctuary on your sales floor and helping your customers build one in their bedroom. Julie A. Palm, veteran retail writer and former editor in chief of this magazine, explores a host of sleep-related products—from linens to aromatherapy—that can have great appeal to the female-dominated customer base that visits your store.

Moreover, carrying these add-on opportunities meets shoppers’ ever-growing appetite for convenience, which bedding retailers can fulfill with quality accessories. As one manufacturer recently noted, “Why let your customers purchase a mattress from you and then rush to Target to pick up new pillows? That’s crazy!” (In a complementary feature story, Associate Editor Beth English and Digital Editor Barbara Nelles provide a roundup of new pillow offerings and selling/merchandising strategies.)

And equally important, by adding bedroom ambience to your showroom, you offer customers a restful, relaxing environment in which to shop and buy.

What are your plans for May and upcoming seasonal promotions and events? Write me—I’d love to hear from you. Here’s to a happy and profitable summer!