1
4 Comments

Gauging Interest in Mattress Subscription Model

Just curious... with product subscription models continuing to grow, I'm curious what anyone though about a subscription program for a mattress. Generally, it would simply have two main benefits compared to a traditional model:

  1. Pay over time, say 2 or 5 years, rather than one large sum at the original purchase.
  2. Customization over time. Rather than realizing you hate your mattress two years after buying it, you could customize it any time during the subscription.

Two questions for anyone willing to answer:

  1. Would you be interested in such a thing next time you shop for a mattress?
  2. If so, what you be willing to pay month to consider?

I know this is general... I'm just trying to grab a straw pull to check the pulse.

#product-feedback-request

  1. 1

    How do people typically buy mattresses? How do they know if they like it or not? How long does it take? These are the types of questions I would look into.

  2. 1

    My thoughts are 1. getting a mattress into my place is a "bitch" and I'd want the correct one the first time 2. I know right away if I don't like my mattress.

    What type of customization (over time) would you propose?

    I personally wouldn't be interested in such a thing but there's something there as most people don't ditch their mattress until it get's REALLY bad.

    Interesting idea!

    1. 1

      Thanks for the reply. We currently already do some ongoing customization, it's just not forever via a subscription model. Rather, it's in the place of the "trial" period that others do. It's only temporary.

      Basically, what we would do in this case is switch out layers of foam to comply with what people need. We don't glue the mattress layers together, so it would be easily done by the customer in their home.

      For example, maybe in the summer they're getting hotter at night and want something with more cooling potential. We could switch it out to help. Maybe they had a back injury and need different support during PT. Maybe their dog peed on the thing and it's gross. Those are things that normally fall outside of warranty claims, and would make people have to re-shop for a new mattress. All of that would be done free of charge under the subscription for as long as they participated.

      Plus, we would also consider doing some fun things - new pillows every 6 months so your pillow never goes flat as an example.

      And you're right, most people don't ditch their mattress until it gets really bad. That's usually because 1) it's an expensive investment, and 2) because shopping for them is painful and it's basically impossible to know if you're getting something you'll actually like. This removes both of those. Lower upfront investment and a partner to help long term, rather than a purchase and you're on your own.

      1. 1

        Thanks for explaining! I like the idea of doing the work "in place" so there would be no shipping or removal.

        Managing the logistics of "in home" repair will be challenging but it sounds like you're giving this quite a bit of thought.

Trending on Indie Hackers
Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 29 comments My Top 20 Free Tools That I Use Everyday as an Indie Hacker 18 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments Use Your Product 13 comments How I Launched FrontendEase 13 comments