Henry Carlson
We all have allocations for everything that we spend our money on so that we can be sure that our hard earnt bucks go towards the things we need and also enjoy! Necessities such as mattresses may be a once in a blue moon purchase, but they often eat up a large part of our earnings. This is why it’s a good idea to do a bit of research before you buy a new mattress. For example, you can read up on the ratings of mattress retailers, customer reviews of your chosen product and, of course, also see what type of mattress discounts the various mattress stores offer. In this way, when you’re buying a mattress online or offline, you know you’re getting the best retail price.
So, how do you know whether you’re getting a great deal? We’ll help you find out! We will identify whether there is a so-called mattress shopping season and help you find the best times to buy a mattress, as well as ways to save money while mattress shopping.
Mattress Price Variation in the Online & Offline Market
Mattress prices vary for a couple of reasons, and, most of the time, their lowest prices are around certain times of the year. This highly depends on where you are to get the mattress, sometimes the mattress brands, and time of year of when you make the purchase. The prices of mattresses can be confusing for some, as the many retailers offer mattress sales independently of each other throughout the year and have good deals available at the same time and on specific holidays or holiday weekends. Factors such as whether the seller is an offline or online retailer, what platform they use, and the mode of purchase can affect the sales and discounts.
Perhaps one of the most important things to know before purchasing a mattress is whether it is sold directly from a factory or by a brick and mortar store. Is this your first time to hear about this? Are you clueless about the difference between the two? Let us help you out.
Know the Key Differences between Major Suppliers
A brick and mortar store is a company that sells the mattresses at prices that are already inclusive of its shipping cost, stocking fee and commission. In short, you are getting a new mattress from a middleman who gets stocks from a supplier.
On the other hand, you have factory direct stores, which receive the items straight from the mattress manufacturers and eliminate the need for a middleman. These are usually companies that can buy products in bulk.
The bottom line here is that prices are often higher when you buy from brick and mortar stores than factory direct stores. This is because factory direct stores do not involve the costs associated with having a middleman. Having said this, regardless of which source is available and most convenient for you, both options usually have different types of discounts and sticker prices during special days and seasons of the year.
When to Buy a New Mattress from a Physical Store and Online Retailers
The Best Time to Buy a Mattress from Physical Stores
If you choose to buy your mattress from a physical store, you need to realise that these retailers often follow a different timeline to give you the best deals within the mattress industry. Online stores also have a different approach in providing discounted mattress prices to their consumers. If you’re not much of an online shopper and prefer seeing and testing various mattress brands before purchasing one, have a look at this mini-guide that you can use as a reference to know when it’s the best time to buy a new one.
Sales and Discounts in the Month of January
Businesses tend to pile up on stocks towards the end of winter and during the late winter months as people are more likely to go shopping during the holiday season. But why shop in January? Businesses understand that people spend a lot of money towards the end of the year, so they tend to offer a sale at the beginning of the year.
This is to keep the cash flow going following the festive boom, and because many companies know that there are still people who have money left to spend and are waiting for the lower prices to save money. This method falls on what we popularly call “white sales”. You will see many stores lower down their mattress prices for a limited time to generate and maximize sales before businesses slow down.
Sales and Discounts in the Months of March, April or May
Mattress companies usually release new models of mattresses in the market at this time. Of course, these models will be highly-priced when it comes to product launches as they are new releases. But this offers a great opportunity for those thrifty spenders, who have had their eyes on specific mattress models, as the older models will often have price cuts.
Businesses need to make space for the new products; hence, they need all the room to store, display and sell new models. At this point, you can expect the older models to have a 50% off from its original price, making it a good time to get going on the bargain hunt. Though this may not be the case for all stores, it might help to ask the store of your choice about their inventory turnovers – at the very latest, this happens during or towards the end of the month of May.
Moving, Closeout and Opening of Mattress and Home Furniture Store Discounts
If you see to hear many advertisements of a store closing down or opening up in your area, then a store may have something to offer and, more specifically, have some deals on mattresses. They usually do this on opening and closing occasions to either attract new customers and let them know their location, or they need to get rid of their stock and want to entice you into a mattress purchase. Although it may be time-consuming and it may not be the most pleasant shopping experience, it is a good idea to check out stores for sales and specials when they are about to open, close and move. This can be considered for all types of mattress stores, whether they’re a start-up or a big player.
Sale and Discounts on Holidays
Holidays, especially those that fall on a weekend, are always something to look forward to. A few examples are Black Friday, Memorial Day weekend, Presidents Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day and Labor Day weekend. These are extremely popular because ads and notifications of companies going on sale spread like wildfire. Additionally, people tend to have more time to go shopping, thanks to having an additional day off or – as with Black Friday – people are heavily incentivized by lower a price point to go shopping. While most companies often allocate several products to be on sale from time to time, these major holidays guarantee more items to be around 10% to 20% off their regular prices.
Although the following are not classed as holidays, we just quickly wanted to mention Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day at this point, as they follow the simple principle of offering a day full of discounts. We will look at these online sales in greater detail in the next section.
The Best Time to Go Online Shopping for a Mattress
Shopping online is probably one of the easiest ways to check out a couple of online mattress sellers, mattress types, and prices. You can fish better online as checking out and comparing mattress prices can easily be done with a simple click of a button. But, if you are after mattress deals and are looking for the “sale” or “discount” game, then you should know that most online discounts are given in the form of flash sales or lightning deals. And that’s when it’s the best time to buy a new one and get rid of your old mattress.
These are discounts and sales that are fleeting and are available to those who check out first. Unlike physical stores, online deals and discounts are more frequent and given on unpredictable occasions. So, to ensure you find the best offer when you buy a mattress online, we have prepared a list of a few online events to look forward to. Keep an eye out for these sales and sticker prices, no matter whether you’re going to buy a new mattress offline from department stores or via online retailers.
Black Friday Sale
This is a huge online event that people look forward to. Ever since Black Friday which comes right after Thanksgiving has become an opening for the holiday shopping period. Back in the day, this type of sale was only available to brick and mortar stores. But now, you will be amazed at how crazy the online marketplace gets this time of year. At this time, you will see big players cut down their prices in huge chunks and make them available for everyone. This is definitely something to look forward to.
Amazon Prime Day Sale
Popularly known for being one of the biggest online markets, Amazon honors its Prime customers by giving them two days of free shipping on various products. This usually involves thousands of items that they can get a hold of the entire two or even three days of the sale. So if you are looking forward to buying a mattress via Amazon, check it out in the second week of July.
Cyber Monday
Since physical stores usually have sales on Thanksgiving, you can extend your shopping free online. This is done on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Advertisements for this event are usually aired weeks before it. Hence, companies selling mattresses make it a point to bring out all their low-priced items at this time. If you are lucky, you may even get the chance to shop more as the Cyber Monday sale sometimes gets extended throughout the entire week.
Labor Day Sale
During Labor Day sales, online merchants make sure they can compete with brick and mortar stores. They do this by cutting big chunks from the prices of their regular items. If you are looking for a mattress at some point in September, make sure to do it on the first Monday of the month. At this time, you can compare sale prices in physical stores and online and have the liberty to shop from a store that offers the best mattress prices.
Summary and Concluding Remarks
Mattresses are not regular purchases for many. But when the need for one arises, it is always good to make sure you get the best available one at the best prices. While you can easily purchase a mattress any time of the year, it sure feels good to know that you have purchased one for a low price, or even the best possible price!
Armed with the above knowledge, but before you head off on your bargain hunt, we want to leave you with a few final concluding remarks and factors you may need to keep in mind. Firstly, every state will have its own sales tax rates. This is something you have to beware of when shopping online. Double-check the advertised price so that you don’t have a nasty surprise at the end and find yourself paying more than you intended to. Secondly, many mattress companies offer sleep trials. Even if you’re sure of the fact the mattress you’ve chosen is the right one for you, take advantage of the sleep trial offer, but also make sure to also read the fine print.
Using the guidelines we’ve provided you with above, we believe that you can save a big chunk of money. In this way, you get the mattress you want at the price you are comfortable with while allocating the rest of your money to savings or other items that you have long wanted to purchase.
Remember, you spend half of life sleeping on a mattress, so be sure that the one you choose is good quality and alleviate or prevent any sleep problems you may have.
Henry’s first job was in the furniture and mattress industry as a sales associate. From there, he moved up to merchandising specialist for several years and then became an assistant manager. Working in the industry gave him access to a lot of products and also helped him gain in-depth knowledge.
