Over the years, timely delivery of the mattress has become one of the important issues in the industry. The failure cost of not delivering a mattress well in time has been as high as losing even a returning customer forever.
The mattress industry in the country is thriving high simply due to the reason that the consumers are turning more discerning when it comes to improving their quality of life including sleep which plays an essential role in boosting their overall health. In fact, as per the recent statistics, currently estimated to be Rs 10,000 crore industry, the mattress segment is projected to reach Rs 14,000 crore by 2021.
Typically, the mattress industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9 percent. Well, the numbers indeed present a bright future for the mattress industry and all its stakeholders including the online as well as offline retailers to explore and grab the rising opportunities in India.
While there are many opportunities for growth for the Indian mattress industry in the form of rising income levels and health consciousness, growth in real estate sector as well as the hospitality sector among others, the challenges are no less.
Time & Delivery
Over the years, timely delivery of the mattress has become one of the important issues in the industry. The failure cost of not delivering a mattress well in time has been as high as losing even a returning customer forever.
Well, this may sound simple for a company operating in other sectors such as food where there are frequent fluctuations but a retailer in the industry such as mattress can illafford to even imagine such a scenario as there is already fierce competition in the market. In fact, it is not surprising that these days, mattress customers are being so rigid that they are ranking brands on the parameter of timely delivery.
That said, in the recent past, the online as well as offline retailers in the sector who have failed to decipher the unseen value of being punctual and efficient when it comes to the delivery of the exact product as selected by the customer, have not been able to survive in the tough competitive scenario of the present day mattress market.
Other potent challenges faced by retailers that affect timely delivery
1. Problems in reaching remote locations: This problem is mainly associated with the online retailers. While a customer can order a mattress from any part of the country as all he/ she needs is access to internet and money in his/her wallet, it sometimes becomes a challenge for the retailer to reach a particular destination. In fact, still there are untapped areas of the country where the delivery of the mattress is an issue or takes a lot of time.
In this context, when questioned about her opinion and experience of shopping online from a reputed brand, Jyoti Taya, a customer based in Udaipur, Rajasthan, avers, “When I shifted to my new home, I ordered a mattress online and at that time, it was showing that the delivery would be in two days which was absolutely fine with me. However, it took nearly a week for mattress to arrive at my doorstep. This inordinate delay in the delivery agitated me and I cancelled the order later on and opted for a local mattress brand instead.”
2. Logistics issues: Timely delivery of mattress highly depends on efficient logistics system. However, the mattress industry is highly plagued with expensive logistics issues and non-availability of efficient and affordable logistics companies which can independently execute the logistics operations. Mostly, the cost factor is too high or such companies simply lack the manpower and equipment to carry out even the routine mattress delivery tasks in the local area.
In this regard, Hemant Gupta, Director, Aerocom Cushions Pvt Ltd, says, “In India, it is a general trend that people shop for the mattresses at the 11th hour. So, they are always in urgent need. This puts huge pressure on the mattress retailers as they don’t want the customers to go unhappy. While the retailers do try to accommodate the customer’s urgency but it happens that sometimes, it is not possible to deliver it within the timeframe given by the customers. The main reason is non-availability of transport facility at the moment or the transportation company with which the retailer has tied up is busy delivering another order. Also, since, mattresses are a voluminous product, retailers don’t trust any other transport company other than the one with which they have been engaging with.”
Adding to it, Sabina notes, “Due to lack of affordable transport companies and continuous demand from customers, today, even reputed mattress companies have to rely on generic transport facilities where the manpower is not trained to handle an expensive, bulky and fragile product as mattress. This is one of the main reason that has been restricting the mattress market growth geographically.”
That said, these days, the concept of mattress-in-a-box is catching up fast to help solve the logistic issues related to mattresses which are otherwise delivered in its massive bulky state and cost a lot for labour and delivery. However, the customer service of these logistics companies and their professionalism is still a major issue.
In a nutshell
A decade ago, buying a mattress was a very tedious task. They were not available online and customers had to go to the store physically, choose the mattress solely based on the store owner’s suggestion and lastly, make his/her arrangements to take the mattress home. This process would take from few days to weeks and it was cumbersome. However, thanks to the technology, things changed a lot in the last ten years with the coming of online stores. Even the offline stores have improved upon their delivery and are ensuring that the customers get timely delivery. However, still, timely delivery is an issue that is not sorted out completely.