For years, DTC brands have been stealing headlines with promises of disrupting traditional retailers and transforming the relationship between consumers and brand. Their success (for the most part) has been rapid, focused on nimbleness and experimentation in their product assortment, while delivering ample fear to heritage brands for fear of losing market share.
However, as DTC brands (think Glossier, Casper, Brooklinen, Harry’s, etc.) demonstrate their power as engines of growth, they face increasing pressure to maintain momentum and achieve profitability at scale.
As a part of quantilope’s Closer to the Consumer initiative, we built a brand tracking study in the mattress category to better understand the hurdles DTC brands face to scale their businesses.
Of the 500 US mattress consumers we surveyed, 53 percent have bought a mattress in the past three years. Twenty percent of these purchases have been made online. However, the majority of consumers (60 percent) purchased their mattress from an online retailer, rather than directly from a brand’s website.
The most successful brand equity remains with traditional brands (Serta and Tempur Pedic lead the pack). However, 57 percent of US consumers are aware of at least one DTC mattress brand. Casper and Purple own the most nationwide brand awareness (both at 35 percent) compared to Lessa at 18 percent and Turf & Needle with just 11 percent.
While DTC brands are known as digital natives, the majority (in the mattress space specifically) gain the most attention from TV and radio campaigns. Over 50 percent of consumers recall learning about both Casper and Purple through these campaigns versus 20 percent and 31 percent through social media channels.
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