As a digital-first brand, Saatva was the first to sell luxury mattresses online at scale. Known for high quality, fair prices and outstanding customer service, the company dominated the online space in its category for several years. But as more mattress brands moved online, Saatva needed a way to differentiate itself from competitors. In their new immersive Viewing Rooms, Saatva wanted to create retail spaces where technology, luxury and comfort collide — spaces where potential customers could experience the brand ethos in a tactile, sensory way.
The Challenge
The Solution
With the help of Samsung representatives and acclaimed New York City-based designer Vicente Wolf, Saatva devised a fresh, creative retail experience never before seen in the mattress industry. Samsung’s OMN-D series displays allow for customizable content on both sides, an interactive QBR 13-inch display at each bed allows guests to learn more about product features and benefits and larger displays integrated with FastSensor lift-and-learn technology let customers explore and self educate. The backbone of the tech stack is MagicINFO Cloud, Samsung’s all-in-one content, device and data management system.
"The Viewing Room is the perfect blend of a digital experience and the elegance that embodies our brand." — Joe McCambley, CMO of Saatva
The Results
Saatva’s retail stores are an undeniable success, with on-site sales greatly exceeding the company executives’ expectations. Viewing Rooms allow customers to explore at their own pace while seamlessly utilizing technology to learn more about the products they’re seeing. The blend of innovative tech, comfort and attention to detail creates a modern, sophisticated environment that embodies the brand and drives sales.
About Saatva
Headquartered in New York and Austin, Texas, Saatva is the largest online retailer of luxury mattresses and bedding in the United States. Saatva designs and manufactures nine mattress styles of unparalleled quality through its 18 factories and more than 150 delivery partners nationwide. Unlike most other online mattress brands, Saatva delivers and sets up all its products in the customer’s home, creating an ultra-luxury and hassle-free buying experience. Its Viewing Rooms are located throughout the country. For more information about Saatva, visit saatva.com.
The Challenge
Designing a space that lives up to Saatva's name
When Saatva launched in 2010, its founders made a bold decision to sell their luxury mattresses exclusively online. For the first five years, competition was scarce — then, several other players entered the space, most of them selling inferior compressed foam mattresses in a box. Today, the global mattress market is a $30 billion industry, with 45 percent of customers buying online.
Saatva continued to set itself apart from new competitors with its high-quality materials, robust customer service and in-home white glove delivery. A key part of their marketing, Saatva takes away the customer’s old mattress and sets up their new one, eliminating any worries about proper disposal or faulty installation.
“We never compress our mattresses or leave them on the customer’s doorstep,” says Saatva president and CEO Ron Rudzin. “The entire experience — from research to delivery — is meant to be as elegant as the purchase itself.” This ethos is what sets Saatva apart from other mattress retailers.
In 2017, company leaders made another strategic move: opening the brand’s first retail store.
“The customers we appeal to most are ones whose first instinct is to buy inside a retail store,” says David Link, vice president and head of creative services in marketing at Saatva. “By establishing a luxurious retail experience, we could satisfy that 80% of the audience that likes to see and feel the product before purchasing.”
As they redesigned their in-store experience, Saatva’s challenge was to match this design with their existing aesthetic, upscale yet accessible. The Viewing Room needed to be an extension of the brand’s online presence: sophisticated and high-tech, yet warm and intimate, like a cozy bedroom. Saatva wanted technology that would allow customers to take a self-guided shopping journey and access product-specific information in a fun, memorable way, while feeling relaxed and supported.
“The Manhattan Viewing Room is located near several other mattress stores, and because people are often more familiar with them, we are their last stop,” says Joe McCambley, chief marketing officer at Saatva. “We wanted to make sure it was the most elegant and luxurious experience — but also the most informative.”
The Solution
Technology that engages customers in an immersive journey
To help bring the Viewing Room experience to life, Saatva recruited acclaimed New York City designer and Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame member Vicente Wolf — known for his elegant, timeless perspective and high-end residential work. From the outset, Samsung technology was an integral part of the design.
“Saatva wanted to put across a sense of style, a point of view about what the brand represents,” says Wolf. “I was able to use creativity to give them what they were looking for, while the displays bring energy and inspirational visuals into the space.”
Samsung helped train retail staff to understand the capabilities of the technology and worked with Saatva’s sales team and Wolf to determine the best display placements within the store.
As shoppers enter the Viewing Room, Samsung’s dual-sided OMN-D series displays greet them with positive user testimonials. Meanwhile, the other side of the display shares timely messaging, such as seasonal promotions. Samsung displays near beds cycle through a gallery of Saatva products in scenic settings, from a beach house to a cozy cabin to a downtown apartment. These displays also provide insight into how Saatva products are made and assembled.
“We really thought about the placement of screens and how shoppers would encounter our products,” says McCambley. “Since we primarily sell a single product instead of thousands, storytelling is important. From the making of products, to how it looks in a room, to its utility and environmental benefits, we want customers to learn more about our brand.”
As customers begin their self-guided journey through the Viewing Room, sleek 13-inch QBR displays located at each bed provide additional product specs and features, allowing customers to explore the details at their own pace as they examine the mattress itself.
Powering the digital experience is Samsung’s proprietary content, device and data management system, MagicINFO Cloud. This intuitive software allows users to create, edit and push content straight to individual displays — so the Saatva team can keep refining in-store messaging as they learn more about how shoppers navigate the Viewing Room and which content keeps them engaged.
That data is complemented by FastSensor technology, which uses thermal mapping to see which areas of the store consumers are flocking to. The technology also enables interactive experiences for customers who want to explore and learn on their own. Next to add-on products like bedding and pillows, shelf-installed displays come to life when customers pick up certain items, sharing relevant product details, photos and videos.
“Once the customer completes their mattress purchase, we can further enhance their accessory journey,” says Rudzin. “FastSensor can help educate them about the difference between latex and memory foam, or sateen and linen, for example. It helps complete the purchase bundle inside the store.”
Saatva will also use the heat mapping data from FastSensor to understand how customers move through each retail location, unlocking the location-specific needs and preferences of customers.
“I think different cities will react in different ways,” says Rudzin. “We plan to make small adjustments in each store to incorporate the unique aspects of each location.”
The Technology
QB13R
Samsung’s QB13R small display enables personalized and more impactful communication through its compact and versatile design. An all-in-one solution designed for professional use, the QB13R improves the operational efficiency of content, while also ensuring reliable performance for any business use.
OM55N-D
Slim, ultra-high brightness displays emphasize content, regardless of the lighting conditions. A double-sided screen on the OMN-D provides complete versatility for businesses — each side can be adjusted for the environments in which it is utilized.
The Results
Self-guided retail experience makes Saatva stand out
With Samsung’s latest display solutions, mobile devices and retail technologies installed throughout, Viewing Rooms create a one-of-a-kind mattress store. Dual-sided displays and relaxing imagery invite customers into a warm, comfortable shopping environment. Once inside, shoppers take an immersive, self-guided journey free of salespeople.
“The Viewing Room allows customers to keep discovering things as they walk through the space,” says Rudzin. “They’re able to stop, look around, absorb what they are seeing, then go on to the next thing. It’s part of how retail is changing; instead of being bombarded with products and sales pitches as soon as they step in, they can relax and take it all in.”
Revenue from the stores prove just how much of a hit Saatva’s Viewing Rooms are among customers. People travel across state lines to visit the stores and shop. In Saatva’s Manhattan location, the company has sold mattresses to residents from every U.S. state.
“If the store was doing half the volume, I would consider it successful,” Rudzin says.
The average order value for in-store purchases is higher than it is online, since people are more likely to bundle products together. The return rate on products purchased in store is also lower.
“Online, they might choose the least expensive item or the best seller — here, we are able to feature a different portfolio with more products like bed frames, sheets and pillows,” Rudzin says.
In the next few years, Saatva plans to open as many as 60 retail stores in major cities across the U.S., and will use Samsung technology to create its own content distribution network. In the recently opened Washington, D.C., Viewing Room, Saatva uses their Samsung technology to study how shoppers navigate the space and consumer shopping habits.
“We want to create advertising at a centralized source and deliver it to customer locations based on seasonality and website metrics,” says Rudzin.
As more Viewing Rooms open, Wolf and his design team will incorporate Saatva’s findings and customer feedback to customize their in-store journey for each city.
“We want each Viewing Room to say, ‘I cared enough to make this experience different,’ while also maintaining a cohesive brand experience across the country,” explains Wolf.
With the vision of one of New York City’s most respected designers and a leadership team that doesn’t shy away from innovation, the Viewing Rooms are only the beginning of Saatva’s retail transformation.
“We want to remind consumers that luxury is an advancement and it always has been,” says McCambley. “If we can surround shoppers with luxury, that leaves a resonance that reflects positively on them. The Viewing Room is the perfect blend of a digital experience and the elegance that embodies our brand.”
