Waterbed Market Flows to the Internet

    /24-7PressRelease/ - PLAINVIEW, NY, April 22, 2006 - "The local retail waterbed store, an american fixture throughout the eighties and nineties, is now nearing extinction, and is giving way to the internet e-tail virtual showroom of today." So says Steve Bennethum of innomax corporation, A Denver based waterbed supply wholesaler. "In major markets like the Los Angeles area, there were dozens of waterbed chain stores, some with as many as 25 locations, not to mention the countless independent stores with one or two locations". These showrooms have gone the way of the milk man, giving many people the mistaken impression that floatation sleep has become a passing fad. Instead, the waterbed industry, though downsized somewhat, has begun to re-invent itself as a niche market with a strong internet presence, and business is alive and well for those selling waterbeds and related accessories on internet websites.
A recent google search of the keyword "waterbeds" produced hundreds, if not thousands of internet merchants offering a product line ranging from water conditioner for $20.00 to mirrored canopy waterbeds for over $2,500.00. Nearly all the top ranking websites offer free shipping in the continental U.S. This could be indicative of a healthy, if not crowded, market.
"An apparent decline in the popularity of waterbeds that began in the early nineties forced many panicky retailers to either diversify their product lines, or get out altogether," Bennethum goes on to say, "with many of them moving their waterbed models from a window display to a remote corner of their showrooms".
That trend is beginning to show signs of a reversal, thanks in part to the World Wide Web, which, ironically, may have had its roots in the demise of the brick-and-mortar store. "People often visited our showroom and selected what they wanted to buy, but would then go home and order it online for less, and get free shipping to their homes", lamented e-tailer and former showroom manager Bob "the waterbed guy" of
http://www.waterbedsmart.com . "Ever increasing rents, compounded by a loss of marketplace and a downward trend in popularity has caused most of us to either abandon ship or turn to the internet to survive".
For webmasters selling waterbeds who have achieved top ranking in the major search engines, business is booming. Overture, (yahoo search marketing) has a merchants tool that keeps track of how often people enter any given keywords in a given month. In june 2006, the keyword "waterbeds" was queried 51,359 times on yahoo and their syndicates alone. According to Bob the waterbed guy, "Most of our internet sales are from repeat customers who tell us that they can't find our products locally anymore, but they know exactly what they want, and know how it will feel. They don't need to visit a showroom to know the difference between how a
hardside or softside waterbed feels." He continues; "anything that you could have bought in our showroom 15 years ago, no matter how big or small it may be, you can now buy online with free shipping".

www.waterbedsmart.com is a waterbed specialty website with free shipping in the continental usa

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