Spring Air International’s president reflects on the latest Better Sleep Council research showing that consumers are replacing their mattresses sooner and that hybrids are gaining market share.
Transcript
Waynette Goodson
We look like game show hosts.
Nick Bates
Yeah. And now, spinning the wheel.
Waynette Goodson
Welcome to “Inside the Mind of Today’s Mattress Shopper.” And we have Nick Bates with Spring Air today to tell us the Spring Air story and just what Nick is seeing. You all have a wonderful durability story here at Spring Air, and we have just uncovered that the mattress replacement cycle has dropped to 8.3 years. How does that translate at Spring Air?
Nick Bates
So, one thing we like to think of is that they want to see the warranty process. They want to be able to see that on the mattress. So our last mattress brand, we upped the warranty. We made it 20 years. Now, should you keep your mattress for 20 years? Your research says no, and they’re right. What we think is that every 6-8 years, your life changes.
You have a baby; maybe you lose weight or hurt your hip. All those changes make it so you either need a different mattress or a different firmness level. That the mattress didn’t fail, but your body changed in a way, and your life changed in a way that doesn’t suit your needs anymore. And we believe that that research nailed it.
Where it’s every 6 to 8 years, and 8.3 is right around the number.
Waynette Goodson
Right? Right. Okay. So here is your next question. Are you ready?
Nick Bates
I’m ready.
Waynette Goodson
Okay, here we go. So we’ve also found that hybrid mattresses, in particular, are gaining lots of market share, and they have increased by four percentage points to 20% in the past two years. We understand you have a big hybrid story, and you are going big with that, Nick. Tell our audience just.
Nick Bates
So I didn’t get to see those numbers, but two and a half years ago, we took our product development committee, which each one of our factories gets to join one person. We all came together, and we said Back Supporter needs a buzzword, and we added hybrid to Back Supporter. And ever since, Back Supporter has taken off for us. So we took that a step further.
And right behind us, you’ll see our Hybrid Plus Mattresses, and we continue to use that buzzword. And I love the numbers you’re showing because that means we did the right thing, and we’re starting to gain traction in the marketplace.
Waynette Goodson
Wow. So we are right in lockstep with you at Spring Air and then with our research. So with Last Mattress, you don’t literally mean it’s this person’s last mattress.
Nick Bates
You mean it’ll be the last mattress that you will need, but your body will change, and it won’t be the last mattress you’ll ever have.
Waynette Goodson
All right. So you have heard it here today from Nick Bates from our Better Sleep Council Research. Thank you so much for tuning in. And Nick, thanks so much.
Nick Bates
Thank you for having me today.
