There’s no escaping Amazon sneaking into nearly every retail conversation. From its Prime Day to its partnerships and quick deliveries, Amazon’s presence is a force with which to be reckoned. One company that’s looking to capitalize on that very notion is startup mattress company Tuft & Needle.
This week, the mattress company announced news of its plans to open up its fourth store, but with a twist — the new Seattle-based store will be fully powered by Amazon technology. Currently, Tuft & Needle receives 25 percent of its sales through the eCommerce giant’s site.
In this new store, Tuft & Needle customers will see a myriad of Amazon technologies helping to enhance the overall in-store shopping experience. These Amazon technologies include: tablets throughout with Amazon reviews; Amazon Alexa-powered Echos programmed to answer questions; QR codes for one-click purchases via the Amazon app and, down the line, two-hour delivery for Prime members.
While Tuft & Needle has not raised any venture capital at this point in time, the company is hoping that this move to infuse its new Seattle store with Amazon technology will help propel its revenue — and help it compete against other competitors in the mattress marketplace, such as Casper, Leesa and Purple.
Tuft & Needle’s Co-Founder, Daehee Park, commented on this decision to move forward with using Amazon-only technology in its store. “We’ve had a lot of internal debate about this since the beginning: the approach to resist Amazon as a force and see how we can go head-to-head against it,” said Daehee Park. “But where we’re at right now, we’ve decided why not just embrace them. It is the future of retail and eCommerce.”
Depending upon the success of this new retail avenue, with the infusion of Amazon Alexa and QR codes, it may be likely that we’ll see additional retailers in the mattress marketplace adding Amazon technology to their stores. And perhaps, this may help move the digital retail revolution at a much faster pace.