What a Mattress Store Website Needs

What the site is actually for

Nobody buys a mattress on impulse. Shoppers read for weeks, compare models across stores and online sellers, and worry about spending a lot on something they cannot properly test in ten minutes.

By the time they reach a store's website they have a short list and a set of fears: the wrong firmness, a trial that is not really a trial, a delivery crew that leaves the old mattress in the hallway.

The site's job is to answer those fears well enough that they come in and lie down.

The sale still happens in the showroom. The site decides whether the shopper makes the trip.

The questions shoppers arrive with

• Which models they can actually try in the store.
• What is inside each one, and how firm it is.
• What it costs, roughly, in their size.
• What happens if they hate it after a month.
• Whether the old one goes away with the delivery crew.
• Whether they can pay over time, and on what terms.

The fourth is the one that decides between a showroom and an online seller. Mattresses sold in a box usually come with a long home trial, so a store has to state its own terms just as plainly.

The models on the floor

List every model in the showroom with a photograph, the brand, the sizes it comes in and its height.

Model names often differ from store to store, so shoppers compare what they can: the layers, the materials and the feel.

Mark which models are on the floor today and which are order only. The whole point of the visit is to lie on the one they are considering.

Firmness and materials in plain words

Firmness labels are not standard. One maker's medium is another's firm, so a single store scale applied to every model on the floor is more useful than the words on the tags.

Explain the materials once, on their own page: pocketed coils, memory foam, latex, and hybrids that combine coils with foam, with what each feels like and who tends to prefer it.

Keep the claims modest. A page that promises a better night rather than a cure for back pain is easier to believe.

Prices, or at least ranges

Many mattress stores leave prices off the site to get people through the door. Shoppers who are comparing tend to read the gap as a reason to visit a store that does show them.

A price for each model in the most common size, or a range from twin to king, answers the question without tying the store to a figure that changes with every promotion.

If prices change with sales, say so, and keep the comparisons honest: a was price should be one the store actually charged.

Trial, exchange and returns

This page carries more weight than any other, and it is usually the vaguest.

Say whether the store offers a comfort exchange, a return or both, and for how long. Say whether there is a minimum period to adjust before an exchange, which many stores require.

State the conditions in full: a mattress protector, the labels left on, any pickup or restocking fee, and whether sale and clearance models are included.

Keep the warranty separate. A warranty covers defects such as sagging beyond a stated depth, not comfort, and confusing the two causes most of the arguments later.

Delivery, setup and the old mattress

Shoppers want to know when it arrives, whether someone carries it upstairs and sets it up, and what happens to the old one.

Give the delivery area by town name, the usual lead time, the charge or the threshold for free delivery, and whether a delivery window can be chosen.

Removal is a real worry, because an old mattress is heavy, awkward and costly to get rid of.

If the store takes it away, say so near the top and say what it costs. If it goes for recycling, say that too.

Financing stated clearly

Financing sells mattresses, and it is easy to describe badly.

Name who provides it, the term, whether interest is charged and from when, and what the buyer owes if anything is still outstanding when a promotional period ends.

An example payment helps, provided it is accurate for the price and term shown. A no-interest offer with its conditions in a footnote produces the kind of surprise people tell their friends about.

A worked example

A family-owned mattress store in a suburban shopping centre had a site with the logos of the four brands it carried, a gallery of the showroom and a contact form.

There were no models, no prices and nothing about trials. Many people who came in had already settled on a mattress sold online and wanted to know why they should pay more.

When they asked about returns, the answer depended on which salesperson they asked.

The new site lists every model on the floor with its layers, height, sizes and a price range, each rated on the store's own five-point firmness scale.

One page sets out the exchange terms, the delivery area and the removal charge in plain sentences, and staff now answer questions from the same page.

Shoppers now arrive with a short list of models to lie on.

The showroom itself

Photograph the showroom as it is, with the beds made and the lights on, and the entrance as seen from the parking lot.

Give the hours prominently, including evenings and weekends, since couples often shop together when both are free.

Ask for reviews after delivery as well as after the sale, because what happens at the door is the part a new shopper cannot see.

The counter-case

A store that sells mostly to repeat local customers, or a mattress department inside a furniture store, may not need a page per model to start. Brands, sizes and price ranges can be enough at first.

A store whose stock changes constantly may prefer ranges by type to individual models, which is a question of upkeep, not of hiding anything.

Whatever the scale, the terms belong online in full: trial, returns, delivery, removal and financing. Answer the fears before the visit.

What to build first

1. List the models on the showroom floor.
2. Rate firmness on one store scale.
3. Show a price or range for each.
4. Write the trial terms in full sentences.
5. Explain delivery and old mattress removal.
6. State financing terms with an accurate example.
7. Photograph the showroom and its entrance.

Step four matters most. Online sellers compete on their trials, and a showroom that cannot state its own terms in plain sentences loses that comparison before the shopper has seen the floor.

The same approach for a very different anxious shopper is in what a home care agency website needs.

Frequently asked questions

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