There's an article up on Curbed which looks into the surprising number of online mattress-in-a-box companies that have been starting up recently:
Since Casper launched its "mattress in a box" concept in 2014, digital-savvy entrepreneurs have been launching new mattress brands online seemingly every week. Each offers a state-of-the-art mattress made with patented new materials or an innovative design, all compressed into a small box for easy shipping right to your doorstep.
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It's hard to know just how many online mattress-in-a-box companies are floating around, but one such company's CEO said the number could be as high as 150. Another said the number of mattress manufacturers, which are rarely the startups actually marketing the mattresses to consumers, is close to 500.Ideally, a mattress is something you buy once every eight to 10 years, when an old one wears out or a major life event like getting married creates a new household. One can find a quality mattress for around $1,000. Given this is a relatively affordable, infrequent purchase for most households, why do so many companies see an opportunity in the online mattress space?
The article covers the reason for the explosion in the number of these companies, the economics and supply chain behind them, and the longer term survival prospects.
Originally spotted on Hackernews.
(Score: 3, Informative) by fyngyrz on Tuesday April 03 2018, @02:07PM (3 children)
My SO and I bought a Purple mattress. It is insanely better than our previous, old-tech mattress. After using it for a couple months, I went back and bought a pillow from them as well. It is also much better than any other pillow I've used, much less any currently in our home (and there are quite a few of those.)
IMHO, the reason these companies — or at least Purple — are springing up is pretty simple: old mattress (and pillow) tech sucks. There's a market opportunity out there in the form of people who are waking up with aching backs and hips. Necks too, WRT pillows.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03 2018, @08:08PM
Not the real reason. The mattress industry is low cost and has insane margins. I routinely get insane discounts at mattress stores by being a time sink, having cash, and not being afraid to walk. You can guarantee that these online mattress companies have even better margins as they have way lower overhead.
(Score: 2, Funny) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday April 03 2018, @08:35PM (1 child)
I see what you did there.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Touché) by fyngyrz on Tuesday April 03 2018, @08:53PM
Sheesh, I can't get away with anything around here.