Which? urges popular mattress companies to play by the rules

From bank holidays to Valentine's Day, mattress sales happen pretty much all year. Mattress brands may sell more by ramping up promotions at key periods, but we think some are potentially breaking consumer laws by misleading customers about sales. 

Our recent snapshot investigation* into mattress sales led us to write to popular brands, asking them to review their marketing tactics to ensure they are compliant with the consumer regulations around the advertising of sales.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is separately investigating Emma Sleep and Simba over concerns of potentially misleading price reduction claims.

Here’s why you should approach mattress sales with caution…

Our mattress sales investigation

Over eight weeks from August to October 2023, we scrutinised the prices offered by direct-to-consumer mattress brands Dreams, Emma, Eve, Hypnos, Lola, Nectar, Otty, Rem-Fit, Silentnight, Simba and Tempur, on some of their most popular mattresses we’ve tested.

While some, such as Eve, Silentnight, Tempur and Hypnos appeared to offer genuine savings on products in sales, Simba and Emma's sales appeared to see-saw between products. Other brands, including Lola, Nectar Otty and Rem-fit had mattresses that seemed to be continuously on sale, during the entire period we checked.

We spotted other issues too, including:

Offers that didn’t end when advertised. Back-to-back similar sales.Pressure-selling tactics.Deals that may not offer a genuine savingOur  will help you find a good mattress at the best price for you.

Why are mattress sales so prevalent?

Lisa Galliers, Which? mattress expert says:

‘We’re not saying mattress sales are a bad thing, far from it, because a mattress can be an expensive purchase. But from a consumer’s perspective, it can be confusing when they come to buy a mattress. How do you know you’re getting a genuinely good deal if a mattress appears to be constantly on sale, or the sales don’t end when they’re supposed to?

‘Tactics like these can have a real influence on shoppers’ behaviour. A Which? member survey in 2023 revealed that 22% of mattress shoppers bought a mattress purely because it was on sale. Previous Which? research has also found that shoppers can be influenced by ‘dark patterns’ - clever website design features that are used to affect our behaviour.

‘Some of the activity we observed during this time certainly raises questions, which is why we’ve asked all brands - not just those in our snapshot - to review sales and marketing activity. 

'When companies promote a deal, it must be a genuine offer.’

Find out more about , designed to manipulate your choices online.What the brands told us

We asked the brands to comment on our initial findings.

EmmaLola OttyRem-FitResident HomeSimbaOur survey of Which? members highlights the .

Tips on navigating the mattress sales

Don’t panic buy Compare direct vs retail pricesCheck our monthly deals pageKnow your rightsGet our expert tips for making smarter consumer choices. .

source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-urges-popular-mattress-companies-to-play-by-the-rules-aeIV45u7pHws