Pillows and mattresses go together like peanut butter and jelly. And in today’s bifurcated retail economy, where the majority of consumer spending falls into either the high-end luxury category or the value category, pillows are a crucial selling strategy for retailers to boost ticket sales, particularly among more frugal consumers.
“As consumers become more intentional with major purchases, like mattresses, brands are leaning into products that feel accessible and immediately beneficial,” said Derek Leishman, national sales director at Mlily, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Pillows aren’t new, of course, but manufacturers have been expanding or refreshing their existing product lineups. This trend is especially relevant right now, as consumers pay more attention to the role of sleep in overall health. Consumers aren’t just looking for the right mattress, but the right accessories, too.
“Pillows are often the first upgrade consumers make when prioritizing better sleep, and they play a key role in a mattress purchase, when shoppers are already thinking holistically about comfort and support,” Leishman said. “This allows us to meet consumers where they are without the hesitation that can come with higher-ticket items.”
Today’s pillows have moved beyond simple white rectangles. There are cooling features, serum infusions to support skin, organic materials and a variety of silhouettes, including clouds, crescent moons and alphabetlike X’s and V’s for ergonomic positioning while sleeping.
According to Business Research Insights, the global pillow market is estimated to be valued at approximately $15 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $22 billion by 2035.
“We’re seeing a mindset shift,” said John Schulte, president of St. Peters, Missouri-based Innovative Sleep Technologies. “Retailers are moving away from buying a product on a simple dollar basis and instead evaluating the total gross profit margin that can be generated from selling a system of products that allows tickets to expand during the end-user transaction.”
At the January Las Vegas Market, Symphony Sleep (part of Innovative Sleep Technologies) unveiled three new pillows: Symphony, Harmony and Melody, designed to provide retailers good-better-best options to offer to customers.
“Our expanded pillow collection introduced this season was in direct response to retailer requests and market demand,” Schulte added. “Our retailer partners asked us for pillows that would hit price points above and below our single chiro-curve pillow and wanted traditional memory foam and ‘hotel’ fiber pillows. We created both, keeping in mind the retailers’ requests for (components and) design but also with a focus on achieving better margin while still allowing them to sell below other brands they may have in their stores.”
According to Schulte, pillows also help retailers maximize their product orders. “When evaluating a retailer’s freight spend, it’s helpful to have additional products that can be easily added onto every order, which reduces their landed cost of goods per item,” Schulte added. “Creating a product program that gives retailers multiple products to increase their ticket sales and reduce their freight costs is just another strategy we’ve employed to become better partners to our customers.”
Leishman echoed Schulte’s sentiments.
“Pillows are a proven attachment driver at retail and an effective way to increase ticket size,” Leishman added. “They are the most commonly added accessory with a mattress purchase, especially when the product story clearly connects comfort, support and performance. Beyond attachment, pillows drive repeat traffic since they’re replaced more frequently than mattresses and give retailers a reason to reengage customers between major purchases. Expanding our pillow assortment supports our complete sleep system approach and one-stop sleep shop strategy to further help our retail partners.”
