(ATLANTA, GA – June 22, 2015) — Bedding veterans Chris Marsh and Tim Oakhill have joined the booming world of online mattress startups with the launch of Yogabed, a foam mattress online retailer.
The former Mattress Firm employees joined forces late last year to launch Yogabed, which has received a robust response from consumers, they said.
Yogabed sells direct to consumers at Yogabed.com and offers shoppers the convenience of shopping for a quality foam mattress, including accessories like pillows (free with purchase), sheets, mattress protectors and extra zip-off, washable mattress covers, Marsh and Oakhill said.
The two say they bring something unique to the online mattress space: A combined 40 years of mattress industry experience.
“Yogabed is different in that Chris Marsh and I are the only founders in this new direct-to-consumer category with deep industry experience,” said Oakhill, who spent the last 20 years in chief marketing officer and branding roles withSimmons and Mattress Firm. “We’ve approached the D2C offering with not only aggressive marketing but differentiated product (zip-off/washable top, free pillows). With what I see among D2C in the quality of consumer conversation, differentiated product experience and the volume… this new category is here to stay.”
Support for online mattress shopping is growing rapidly, he said.
“We’re seeing support of this new way of shopping for mattresses among a broad range of media and online influencers — from traditional business press like Bloomberg to digital media like The Huffington Post as well as bloggers/vloggers across all categories of interest,” Oakhill said. “Consumer shopping habits are changing and the discipline of marketing is undergoing a flat-out revolution.”
Yogabed has been designed to keep pace with both of these dynamics with a 1-to-1 customer engagement approach along with an easy to understand product value proposition, officials said.
Marsh said Yogabed meets consumers’ changing shopping habits.
“With 52% of consumers willing to buy online and with this number growing to over 70% in the next two years … the opportunity to simplify the buying process for the consumer is an obvious opportunity,” he said. “The vast majority of consumers are searching online for a mattress education to help eliminate the anxiety of a mattress purchase. Yogabed takes the worry away with extensive online reviews and the ability to try out the mattress in their own home completely risk-free.”
Yogabed takes away the confusion of comparison shopping, a source of angst among mattress shoppers who find it increasingly confusing to compare the myriad mattress choices at traditional retailers. Yogabed offers one mattress made with proprietary Yoga Comfort System technology, an advanced layered system specifically designed to optimally support the body by dispersing weight evenly, reducing pressure points that cause tossing and turning, and offering a cool, comfortable sleep all night long, the company says.
Yogabed retails for $799 in queen, with a Zip-N-Wash cover included.
The Yogabed founders said they set out to create a better mattress and online shopping experience to provide the best value possible for consumers.
“People are getting a $1,500 to $2,000 mattress at $800 or $900,” said Marsh. “I’ve sold billions of dollars in mattresses to consumers during my career. Never have I sold a product with as much true value to consumers as we can offer with Yogabed.”
Integrated into the Yogabed mattress is a machine washable Zip-N-Wash cover, making it easy for consumers to keep their mattress clean and fresh. And, included in every purchase are free Yogabed pillows, made with the same Yoga Instant Response foam technology found in the Yogabed mattress.
Yogabed’s founders say their company offers a convenient shopping experience. Consumers buy online and the mattress is delivered to their doorstep in five to seven business days in a box about the size of a mini-refrigerator. There’s no delivery charge, no extra hidden charges (not even tax), and consumers get 101 nights to try out their mattress in their own home. If they don’t like it, Yogabed will arrange to have the mattress picked up and refund the full price of purchase, the company said.