Online Mattress Brand Casper vs. Traditional Brand Mattress Square off in a Blind Preference Study

Online mattresses are all the craze and it’s hard to go a day without seeing a billboard or TV ad taking aim at the traditional dealers.  But it’s been well documented that sleep is crucial to overall health and well-being, so does it make sense to buy a mattress without trying it?  Well, many people do so we thought it made sense to test and compare, with our guests deciding the outcome.  

The Setup

It was critical that the we gained unbiased results, so with 207 people participating in the blind test, we got a great sample of young and old, male and female, with varying body types.  Over the course of a few weeks, our guests were simply asked to test each queen mattress and choose which one they preferred.  Both mattresses were dressed in identical bedsheets and the Bedgear pillow used on each bed was the same.

The Models

Casper has three price points ranging from $350 to $1,000.  We wanted to test “the best,” so we used “The Wave,” which is Casper’s highest priced model.  It was also critical that the type of mattress was the same, so we went with “all-foam.”  

For the traditional mattress, we used a queen Sealy Optimistic, priced at $899.

The Results?

Well, it wasn’t close.

The “Mattress in a Box” from Casper was the clear loser, with only 20.8% of our guests preferring it; 79.2% chose the in-store “traditional” Sealy mattress as their favorite, which is priced cheaper than the Casper.

Here’s a sampling of opinions:

• “I had more support from the Sealy.  Although the Casper mattress was comfy, I just knew that it wasn’t going to be enough support for my back.  I couldn’t believe that the Casper was a thousand dollars.”

• When asked what they thought the price tag for each mattress, one customer guessed that the Casper Mattress was $900, and the Sealy was $1800.  In fact, the Casper sells for $999 and the Sealy for $899.

• “I've been looking at the Casper online and hearing good reviews.  I can't believe it, but the Sealy was better than the Casper.  I thought it (Casper) would be firmer and sturdier for my back, and actually the other one (Sealy) was better.”

• “The Sealy for sure.  Hand down.”

Conclusion

The goal of our blind study was to learn and get an unbiased opinion from our guests comparing one of the most popular online mattress brands (Casper) to a traditional mattress brand (Sealy).  With so much riding on a good night’s sleep, we want to stress the importance of getting an expert opinion and assessment to find the perfect fit for you.  

That’s hard to do online.  

For more information on the key questions you should be asking prior to purchasing a mattress, check out this video explaining how to narrow down your options.