Buying a Mattress Online vs In-Store: Which is Better?

The mattress you sleep on can have a huge part to play in determining the quality and quantity of your sleep. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that people who sleep less than 7 hours (during a 24-hour period) are more likely to develop up to 10 chronic health problems compared to the ones who sleep for at least 7 hours. The aforementioned is an alarming fact and is one of the many reasons why searching for the right kind of mattress for your body is not something you can take lightly.

A lot of people just go to the first website they can find on the internet to place an order for the mattress with the best deal, but this can end up costing you a lot in the long term. How? If you don’t research thoroughly, you are likely to buy a mattress that’s not built for your bodily needs and preferences (sleeping position, bodyweight, etc.), which can eventually lead to back pain among other hazards. Additionally, the mattress you buy might not come with a warranty and if it’s not made up of durable material, it can start to wear down quickly, forcing you to make another investment.

In order to find the right mattress for yourself (and maybe your partner), you need to consider a lot of factors like durability, offered warranty, sleep trial, sinkage, pressure relief, and motion disturbance. You also need to identify the type of mattress you want to go with, because there are plenty of options available such as memory foam mattresses, adjustable base mattresses, latex mattresses, and waterbed mattresses  Not all of the mentioned mattresses are ideal for all bodies and sleeping positions, hence you need to do your homework before heading to the market.

Another question that every mattress buyer is bound to ask themselves is whether they should purchase a mattress online or go to an actual physical store to get one. There are plenty of differentiating factors between the two options and in this article, we will explore them all and suggest the ideal way to go.

The difference between buying online vs. in-store

Actually laying on the bed

One of the most obvious differences between buying a mattress online vs. mattress stores is that in a store, you can actually lie on the bed to try it out. This might sound like an obvious advantage for store buyers, but there is another side to the story: researchers from RTI reported that when given the choice, people were able to choose only one of the top three mattresses (best suited for them) merely 38% of the time. The study goes on to claim that even when people were able to physically experience the mattresses prior to buying, they weren’t able to make sound decisions. This means that even though you can actually try a mattress in a physical store, most of the time you won’t know which one to buy so you could have just bought the mattress online and the outcome would not have been much different.

Price

When you run a brick-and-mortar store, you have to incur a lot of operational costs including rent, utility bills, and salaries; conversely, an online store doesn’t have any such expenditures associated with it. This makes it safe to state that online stores normally allow you to get your hands on a better deal compared to physical stores.

Ability to compare

Another difference between the two options is that using the power of the internet you can compare multiple online stores within minutes whereas comparing physical stores might actually be a lot harder. With sites like Top 5 Mattresses, highly recommended mattress brands are all found in one place, complete with objective reviews that describe their main features and prices.

Versatility

When it comes to versatility, physical stores are restricted by size and dimensions whereas online stores don’t have such problems. Using an online store, you are likely to find a lot more mattress brand and type options compared to a similar brick-and-mortar store.

Customer reviews

Most of the top mattress vendors have pages on their websites where they share mattress reviews of real paying customers. This is another feature that is not present in brick-and-mortar stores. By being able to see exactly what real customers have to say about a company’s mattresses, you are able to decide whether it’s worth your investment or not.

Now that we have looked at some of the differences between buying a mattress online and purchasing it from a store, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each:

Advantages & Disadvantages

Pros of buying from a brick-and-mortar store

• A salesperson is present to provide you with valuable insights that can help you in finding the mattress that is perfect for your needs.
• If you need help from the customer service or want to get some answers, then you have a physical store where you can go.
• No need to wait for the mattress to get shipped; you can pick it up and manage the logistics yourself.

Cons of buying from a brick-and-mortar store

• Not a lot of people are comfortable with lying on a bed in front of other people.
• Gullible people or people who are not good at negotiating might give in to the salesperson’s pressure and sales pitch and may end up buying a mattress that they wouldn’t have bought otherwise.
• Going to stores takes time.
• Driving from one store to the other to be able to compare prices can be a tiring task.

Pros of buying from an online store

• Considerably lower operational costs ensure that you get comparatively low prices.
• A lot more choices, as an online store’s catalog isn’t restricted by size.
• You can compare different brands instantly.
• When you buy from an online store, you don’t have to leave your home and the mattress can get delivered to your doorstep.

Cons of buying from an online store

• You can’t try the mattress prior to buying.
• If you want to return the mattress, that could mean a lot of hassle as you can’t just load it up in a truck and take it to the physical store.

Final Word

Buying the right mattress can ensure that you sleep well and live a healthy life. The two options talked about in this article have their pros and cons but all things considered, we believe that it’s safe to say that buying mattresses online is the better choice.