A bed is a really personal purchase. It’s something that you touch and feel every day. So how do bed sales work when people don’t want to go to the store? Today’s guest is Angela Gearhart, the Vice President of brand experience at Sleep Number. Listen to today’s interview to hear about what Angela’s thinking about innovation now, how consumer behavior and purchasing decisions have changed, and what changes Sleep Number has made in the store experience due to COVID.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Angela’s background and role at Sleep Number
✔ Angela’s thoughts about the future of innovation
✔ Biggest changes Angela’s seen in consumer behavior patterns
✔ How purchasing decisions have changed
✔ Whether recent consumer behavior changes will stick
✔ Changes Sleep Number has made in the store experience since the pandemic
✔ Other brands with experiences that Angela appreciates
✔ Advice Angela would give to smaller retailers about starting to create a good brand experience
✔ Whether experiences are meaningful or just a buzzword
✔ Future technologies that stand out to Angela
✔ What to do in Minneapolis
Resources:
QUOTES:
“I think it’s a really a great time for innovation.”
“As we shift hopefully out of this soon, retailers will need to think about how to engage consumers and really give them a good reason to leave their house.”
“From a retail perspective, those consumer exchanges are not going to change. They’re not going back. The world has changed.”