Consumer Bed Buying Behaviour

The National Bed Federation regularly researches and publishes information about various factors relating to beds including consumer bed buying behaviour. In this article we look at findings from the first quarter of the year.

Elements covered within their research included

• What types of products were being purchased
• How old was the the bed being replaced
• Reasons for replacement

What’s being bought?

• Mattress only (flat) : sales were down by 7.9% on previous report
• Rolled mattresses: sales were down by 2.3% – This is surprising given the emergence of a number of mattress technology start up companies
  • Interestingly, the 55-64 yr olds were the most likely to buy roll-up mattresses 17.6% compared to the average of 9.7%.
• Mattress plus Bedsteads : sales up by 6.8%
• Divan sets : sales up by 3% on previous report (were favoured by the younger age groups – the main choice for the 25-34 yr olds at 36.3%)
• Matt + Bedsteads (were the preferred choice for the 45yr olds and upwards).

How old is the bed / mattress being replaced?

• The average replacement cycle was 7.4 yrs compared to 7.9 yrs in the previous report.
• 69% of respondents replaced their mattress in under 10 years with a surprising 33% doing so in under 5 years.
• Those under the age of 44 were most likely to replace their mattress in less than 5 years.
  • It would appear the older you get, the longer you hang on to your mattress. This could be a sign of buying better quality.
• The regions most likely to replace their mattress in under 5 years were
  • London (50.7%)
  • Yorkshire (41%)
  • North East (45.5%)

Consumer Bed Buying Behaviour – Reasons for replacement

• Improved comfort was the top reason for replacing (33.5%), up from the previous 30.4%
  • Whilst old product worn out (30.2%) was down from 33% previously.
  • 42.6% of the over 65’s rated improved comfort as the main reason for replacing their mattress compared to only 26% of 25-34 yr olds.
• What type of mattress is most popular?
  • Pocket springs are still the most popular mattress core (52%) with memory foam the most popular comfort layer (49%).
  • Open coil mattress cores have lost share, down from 19% to 12%.
  • There is a noticeable difference in the choice of mattress types
    • with the older age-groups (those over 35) preferring pocket springs
    • whilst the under 34’s prefer foam or latex.

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