The up-and-down bedding industry took a turn downward in September, with unit sales falling 1.0% and the dollar value of bedding shipments dropping 0.6%.
The September Bedding Barometer report from the International Sleep Products Assn., which presents a snapshot of industry activity, painted a generally lackluster portrait of a month that featured the Labor Day holiday, traditionally one of the strongest bedding sales events of the year.
For the first nine months of the year, bedding units were up 1.2% and the dollar value of bedding shipments was up 1.7%. The average unit price in the January-September time period was up 0.5%, to $216.39.
The Bedding Barometer report includes quarterly and year-to-date breakdowns on innerspring and specialty sleep bedding that show innerspring bedding continues to dramatically outperform specialty sleep.
In September, innerspring mattress units were up 0.9%, while specialty mattress units decreased 13.9%. Innerspring mattress dollars were up 9.0% in September, while they were down 9.0% for specialty mattresses.
For the first nine months of the year, innerspring mattress units were up 2.2%, while specialty mattress units were down 6.0%. And innerspring mattress dollars were up 7.7%, while specialty mattress dollars were down 4.2%.
For the third quarter, overall units were up 2.6%, while the dollar value of bedding shipments was up 4.2%. Innerspring mattress units were up 3.8% in the third quarter, while they were down 6.7% for specialty mattresses. And the dollar value of innerspring mattress shipments was up 10.8% in the third quarter, while it was down 3.1% for specialty mattresses.
The average unit price was up 1.5% in the third quarter, to $218.77.
The monthly reports reflect the performance of 15 U.S. bedding producers who last year accounted for 70% of total industry units and about 79% of the wholesale revenues of the full market.
But ISPA cautions that the monthly figures may not necessarily reflect the performance of the industry as a whole, because of market share and distribution changes.
