We make it our priority at Slumber to select our products carefully so that we can provide our readers with trustworthy and beneficial reviews. We choose the products based on several criteria, from market research to identify consumer preferences to hands-on testing.
Our comprehensive approach to choosing the products we review ensures that we can help you make informed decisions about the products that will be best for you. Here we explain how we choose our products so that you can know exactly what goes into the selection process.
Our Product Selection Process
When selecting the best mattresses and other bedding products to include in our lists, much of the emphasis is on hands-on testing because we want to ensure we have personally tried and tested each product.
However, hands-on testing is only one part of the selection process, which includes several other important steps to decide which products make it onto our product lists. Our aim is to make sure that we cover a diverse range of mattresses and bedding products that cater to various needs and preferences.
Market Research and Trends Analysis
Our selection process always begins with looking at the market and trends to ensure we are choosing products that are relevant to Canadian consumers. We monitor new product releases and the latest technological advancements within the mattress and bedding industry to ensure we bring you up-to-date products. This involves tracking innovations such as adjustable firmness levels, cooling technologies, and sustainable practices and materials.
We also analyse reports and forecasts related to the Canadian sleep industry. These reports help us gain insight into market predictions, such as the growing demand for hypoallergenic bedding and cooling mattresses.
In addition, we study the preference of Canadian consumers by looking at data from Canadian sales platforms and review websites, including feedback and ratings on durability, comfort, and overall satisfaction. This helps us to understand what qualities and features are most valued by Canadian customers.
Hands-On Testing
Testing the products ourselves is the most important criterion of our selection process; if we are not happy to use the product ourselves, it will not make the cut. For example, when we are reviewing a mattress we evaluate its firmness, support in different sleeping positions, pressure relief, and cooling properties among other factors.
Each product is tested using the same practices to ensure our assessment is fair. If you are interested in learning more about our testing practices, you can read the article How We Test Mattresses for a step-by-step explanation.
Real-World Usage
Because we can test products such as mattresses only for a fraction of the time they can be expected to last in real use (the average for a good mattress is ten years), we also gather feedback from real users for analysis.
This process involves reading customer reviews across multiple platforms. We ensure we read reviews from one to five stars to get the full customer experience and a balanced view of a product. We also read surveys conducted on products available on the Canadian market to review performance over time.
Environmental and Ethical Considerations
At Slumber, we want to promote sustainable and ethical manufacturing practices. Therefore, we will always consider how eco-friendly a product is. For example, we will check if it has certifications such as CertiPUR-US®, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), or OEKO-TEX® and preference is given to products that have been proven safe and free from harmful chemicals.
We also look at the practices of the manufacturer. Do they use sustainable and ethical practices, such as reducing waste or paying everyone a fair wage at the manufacturing facilities? It is important to us that the products we choose are made by companies who are socially and environmentally responsible.
Availability
When we recommend a product, we want to ensure that it is available in Canada. If we find that a product is often listed as out of stock or that consumers have reported difficulties or delays in obtaining a certain product in Canada, we will exclude it from our product lists.
However, although we do our best to only include products that are easily available, sometimes a product may become temporarily unavailable, it gets replaced by a newer product, or its manufacturing is stopped altogether. To avoid this, we check and update our lists periodically and remove items that are no longer available, replacing them with alternative products.
Brand Reputation
We make it our policy at Slumber to only recommend brands that have a good reputation and that we can trust. If a brand proves untrustworthy, we will not include its products in our lists regardless of how good the product itself may be.
When we assess a brand’s reputation and whether it can be trusted, we do not only rely on our own experience but look at the wider picture and customer feedback plays an important role in this. If the feedback for a brand’s customer service or products is consistently negative, that is a strong indicator that it cannot be trusted to provide the service quality we would expect from companies whose products we recommend.
Other factors that influence whether we include products from a brand on our lists include (but are not limited to), poor build quality, poor quality materials, and dishonest marketing practices, for example, making false claims about a product or posting fake reviews.
How does that affect brands that are new to the sleep market and have not yet had the opportunity to build their reputation? We are always happy to give new companies the chance and include their mattresses or bedding on our lists as long as we are happy with them.
Multiple Products From the Same Brand
We always try to avoid including more than one product from the same brand on a single list when creating our product recommendations. We do this to ensure variety and comprehensive coverage so that you will have a diverse range of products to choose from. By including products from different brands, we make it easier to compare their features, technologies, and prices.
Another reason we avoid duplicates is to avoid brand bias. We do not do paid reviews and do not want to introduce brand bias inadvertently in our recommendations. We always strive to be objective and impartial in our reviews and highlighting multiple products from one brand might suggest favouritism. Featuring a balanced mix of mattress and other sleep product brands, reflects a true comparison of the best products and ensures the reviews remain fair.
Price And Value
Last but by no means least, price is a key factor when selecting the products for our lists. Unless we are creating a list of products specifically aimed at the budget-conscious shopper or a list of high-end products, we always aim to include products from a price range to ensure you can find a recommendation whatever your budget is.
We also want to ensure that all the products we recommend offer the best value for the price point. The higher the price tag, the higher our expectations and if those are not met, we cannot say the product offers value for money and therefore it will not make the list.
Concluding Thoughts
By applying these factors to our selection and review process, we ensure that we are recommending the best mattresses and other sleep products to our readers. They ensure we maintain high standards in helping you to find products that can help you sleep better.