As the spring drowsiness coincides with World Sleep Day, "how to get a good night's sleep" has become a topic of nationwide concern. According to JD's "2024 Sleep Support Insight Report," improving sleep environments and changing bedding have become the primary ways people address sleep issues. In 2023, there was a significant increase in sales of bedding products like mattresses and pillows on JD, with a trend towards upgrading, indicating that more and more people are willing to invest in better sleep.
This process wouldn't be possible without the efforts of JD's purchasing staff. With the arrival of the 2024 JD Sleep Festival, we delve into the intricacies of their work to explore how they capture consumer demands and collaborate with brands to create trend-setting products that better meet consumers' sleep needs, such as hotel-style mattresses, memory foam pillows, and sleep aromatherapy, helping consumers upgrade their sleep gear.
Conrad: The Guy Who Has Tested Over a Thousand Mattresses, Nitpicking Inside Each One
Among the myriad of sleep products, mattresses stand out as the most crucial. Conrad, a JD purchasing staff specializing in mattresses, has surveyed hundreds of professionals, with over 70% expressing a desire to bring home the comfortable mattresses found in five-star hotels. One colleague who frequently travels for work expressed it more explicitly, saying, "Not only does it help the body recover quickly, but just lying on it, even while using my phone, feels incredibly therapeutic."
In light of the surge in searches for "hotel mattresses" on JD.com, Con-g has curated the five-star hotel-grade mattress "Conrad+" for consumers during this Sleep Festival. This mattress, a collaboration between Con-g, JD.com, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts, builds upon the configuration of five-star hotel mattresses, incorporating upgrades based on user feedback. Thicker foam edges reduce the risk of injury for seniors and children, while high-intensity support prevents sagging, catering to the details of home use. According to JD.com data, "Conrad+" launched in October 2023 and ranked among the top three in its category during JD.com's 11.11 shopping event.
"Only by truly understanding the product can one genuinely assist consumers." Since joining in 2021, Cong has visited numerous production sites, delving deep into the understanding of the products sold, from costs and materials to craftsmanship. He has spent three years testing thousands of mattresses. To address the pain point of difficult disposal of old mattresses, Cong has also spearheaded the launch of the "Mattress Trade-In" service. During the sleep festival, consumers purchasing new mattresses can enjoy a subsidy of up to 10%, along with free dismantling, installation, cleaning, and old mattress disposal services, making it worry-free and cost-effective to upgrade to a new mattress.
Xiao Wang: The Great Wisdom Hidden in Pillows Turning the Tide in the Pillow Market
For professionals, cervical spondylosis has become the number one "health killer," making it crucial to choose a pillow that suits oneself. In a casual conversation, Xiao Wang, a procurement specialist at JD.com, learned about a friend's cervical spine surgery. Apart from the deformity caused by long hours of desk work with a downward gaze, his friend had been using a buckwheat pillow handmade by his mother since childhood. While firm and lofty, it had inadvertently accelerated the progression of cervical spondylosis rather than providing relief.
Xiao Wang keenly observed that many professionals like his friends often overlook the importance of choosing the right pillow. They need a memory foam pillow that can automatically contour to their necks and relieve pressure. This sleep festival, Xiao Wang highly recommends the Yado Planet Memory Pillow Pro. Building upon its 23-year edition with a more skin-friendly pillow surface and intelligent temperature control, the product upgrades and innovates with its R-shaped dual-core internal structure and utilizes a golden combination of memory foam, creating a more ergonomic comfort level that helps professionals better care for their cervical spine.
Under the meticulous operation of sales and marketing, Yadoo Planet, with its flagship memory pillow, has grown into the top pillow brand on JD.com, thanks to the support from JD.com. This has also driven the growth of the memory pillow category on JD.com. According to JD.com data, in 2023, the transaction volume of memory pillows increased by 42% year-on-year, with an even more impressive 67% year-on-year increase in transaction volume from users born in the 1980s. Additionally, Xiaowang has launched a 30-day trial sleep service for pillow cores, allowing consumers to experience healthy pillows worry-free.
Fat Ting: Treating Herself as a User to Become the "Creator of Explosive Aromatherapy Products"
"90% of white-collar workers in first-tier cities use fragrance to regulate their emotions. They feel that wealth is hard to achieve freedom, but emotional freedom must be controlled by themselves." Fat Ting, from JD.com's aromatherapy sales and marketing department, found that anxiety and insomnia have become the norm for professionals, and getting a good night's sleep after a hard day's work has become the greatest luxury. JD.com data shows that in 2023, the transaction volume of sleep aromatherapy increased by 297% year-on-year.
After catching wind of this trend, Fat Ting decided to make aromatherapy wax lamps the flagship product category, allowing users to enjoy fragrances and drift off to sleep without the need for ignition. With the idea of making high-value wax lamps accessible to more people, Fat Ting and the principal of the Jupiter & Venus brand hit it off instantly. After two months of meticulous crafting, they produced a beautifully designed, finely crafted wax lamp set with safe candle ingredients, comfortable fragrance, and excellent value for money. A year later, the wax lamp category continued to maintain a rapid growth rate of 300%. Fat Ting remarked, "I see myself as a user, so I know exactly what they want in a product."
Leading up to the Sleep Festival, Fat Ting conducted another round of research specifically targeting white-collar professionals. She discovered that they not only desired fragrances for better sleep but also sought to enhance the romantic ambiance of their homes with small items like aromatherapy. Based on this insight, for this year's Sleep Festival, Fat Ting introduced the WEKUKU aromatherapy wax candle in the "Embrace Emotions Freely - White Tea" edition. Emitting a subtle botanical aroma, the product helps people relax before bedtime. Designed with a metal lid that can hold the wax candle, be used as a snuffer, or even function as a decorative piece, it gives young people a sense of control over their lives.
During the Sleep Festival, JD.com also caters to different consumers' sleep needs by focusing on smart deep sleep, new nap postures, and other scenarios. They offer a variety of products including smart mattresses, orthopedic mattresses, neck pillows, sleep aids, ambient lights, reclining sofas, air purifiers, and melatonin supplements. Simply hop on the JD.com app, search for "JD Sleep Festival," and you'll be directed straight to the main venue for your shopping needs!
