Segmenting How We Sleep

We spend a third of our lives in bed, and while everyone owns one, the market doesn’t seem particularly engaged. So why is choosing a bed so difficult? We started by reviewing previous research into sleep, beds, and mattresses, then immersed ourselves in the customer journey—browsing socials, reading reviews, and interviewing key stakeholders. This gave us a comprehensive view of both the internal business perspective and the external customer challenges, providing the foundation for a robust segmentation.

To truly understand the data, we had to get behind the science of sleep. Open-text responses helped us dive into what keeps people awake at night and the many ways they’re trying to improve their sleep for better health. Understanding the purchase cycle was critical, especially knowing many respondents were years—or even decades—away from their last purchase. We ensured we captured insights from recent experiences, future expectations, and the attitudes that drive decision-making, all while respecting the complexity of buying cycles.

With the data in hand, we took key segments into an online community, humanising the insights and answering deeper questions through interactive tasks. By keeping each stage of research simple and engaging, we broke down the complexities of this large market. We uncovered why the high-low price filter rules the decision process (expensive must mean better for something used every day), why expert advice can overwhelm non-experts, and why aesthetics are often prioritised (if it doesn’t fit the Pinterest board, it’s out).

Taking a vast amount of UK market data back to Dreams could be overwhelming, so we focused on delivering real strategic outcomes. We brought the target audiences to life, giving them faces, names, lifestyles, and challenges. And we provided Dreams with the actionable insights they needed to connect with their customers, helping those audiences overcome the obstacles to better sleep.