Artificial intelligence, once thought of as simply a fad, is now proving itself a useful tool in a business’s belt.
A new survey by SEO and digital marketing consultant Joe Youngblood reveals that roughly one-third of Americans are now considered “heavy AI users.”
This comprehensive study analyzed how 1,151 U.S. adults use AI in their daily lives, and the results reveal that 75% of American consumers said they used an artificial intelligence system in the past six months. Nearly 20% of respondents said they use an AI system multiple times a day.
It also revealed that ChatGPT is now the No. 1 tool Americans use to discover new products, though 31.5% still prefer Google for finding local businesses, specifically.
In the mattress industry, AI is still a foreign concept to many. But if you’re unsure about technology, it’s helpful to look to leaders in the industry.
Somnigroup International recently expanded its relationship with Fullpower, Sleeptracker-AI technology that powers the Tempur-Ergo Smart Base, which provides personalized sleep analytics and coaching.
“As part of the expanded collaboration, Tempur Sealy is making a $25 million equity investment in Fullpower to acquire approximately 15.6% ownership stake,” Somnigroup International CEO and Chairman Scott Thompson said a conference call about Q2 earnings.”In addition, Tempur Sealy and Fullpower have signed a multiyear extension through 2036 with Tempur Sealy’s exclusive rights to embed Sleeptracker technology in our products.”
Fullpower’s AI analyzes your heart rate, respiration and movement to provide detailed sleep insights and personalized recommendations through a companion app, helping to improve sleep quality and wake you at optimal times with the Sleep Cycle Alarm. Features like automatic snore response and advanced climate control systems are also integrated into this AI technology.
Mattress Firm, though part of Somnigroup, has also separately invested in AI for the retail side. The company uses invent.ai to provide AI-driven inventory solutions for demand forecasting, store and distribution center replenishment, and merchandise financial planning. The collaboration is expected to enhance Mattress Firm’s supply chain operations and strategic planning.
“We were impressed with expected ROI modeling and accelerated time to value,” said Deborah Weidemeyer, vice president of merchandising Lifecycle Management for Mattress Firm. “These two key factors along with leading science, a simplified approach to better business outcomes and continuous support and learning through the Hub Model, led Mattress Firm to select invent.ai as our partner.”
Then there’s Eight Sleep, which just raised $100 million in new funding to accelerate its vision of transforming a bed into an AI-powered sleep-optimization and preventive health device.
Eight Sleep will use the funding to enter the medical space and supercharge its AI roadmap, starting with the development of the world’s first Sleep Agent. The Sleep Agent will interpret biometric data and simulate thousands of digital twins per user, allowing it to predict outcomes through advanced modeling.
The Sleep Agent can then intelligently adjust variables like temperature, elevation and bedtime routines to optimize recovery on a nightly basis.
At the Las Vegas Market, I spoke with several manufacturers about AI, and it was surprising how little the industry is using it. There were, however, a few manufacturers using it in creative ways.
For Shifman, President Bill Hammer says the company is working on a new ERP system that incorporates AI to offer better data and reporting.
“We’re using AI as a tool to learn and research more,” says Hammer. “We’re also using it for marketing assets and photos.”
At Bedgear, CEO Eugene Alletto has the same idea, and that’s why he’s tasked the director of each of Bedgear’s departments to come up with a way to use AI to make their departments more efficient.
“AI amplifies employees’ positions with a tool that increases efficiency,” he says. “We also use AI in our mattress-fitting booth. It analyzes data for mattress recommendations and offers information the consumer can use.”
Kingsdown had a large AI-focused introduction in Vegas. CrAIg, a sales training RSAi app created for retail sales associates, features an AI-powered version of Craig Wilson, Kingsdown’s vice president of sales, training and education.
The app allows retail salespeople to instantly request and receive helpful information generated by AI and is the first of many AI marketing support tools to come that the company is creating under Kingsdown RSAi.
RSAs can ask questions like “How do I sell a split head?” or “How do I sell a motion base,” among many others. The company says it will be adding a voice-to-text query and text-to-voice feedback in its sleepLAB at the winter Las Vegas Market.
Puffy similarly uses AI with its AI Sales Training app. At market, the company handed out QR codes that allow anyone to see how the training works.
In the demo, it asks what you’re looking for information on, mastering a product pitch or the Lost Sales Lab. This is a place RSAs can discuss a missed sale with the AI chatbot, ooBlue, and find out what they could have done better.
If you choose mastering a product pitch, it asks for the product name and brand. It then lays out potential key selling points, the ideal customer profile and key differentiators for the mattress of your choice.
The Lost Sales Lab looks at each part of the sale, from the attitude of the customer to size, price and brand of mattress that the RSA showed the customer.
Brent Bierman, retail general manager at Puffy, says the technology has been well received by its retail partners.
In the business world, AI presents a vast multitude of opportunities for retailers and manufacturers to increase efficiencies, train and aid RSAs, and analyze and use data.
As AI can be used in many different ways, stay tuned to Bedding News Now for more coverage of how the bedding industry is using the technology. In the meantime, check out marketing expert Julia Rosien’s recent article on blending AI and a human touch.
