Sleep Country Canada is undergoing a sweeping digital transformation—and at the heart of it all is a commitment to staying ahead of evolving customer expectations while staying true to its roots in sleep expertise and service.
Speaking with Retail Insider, Sari Deckelbaum, Senior Vice President of eCommerce at Sleep Country Canada, shared how the company’s forward-looking strategy is reshaping its approach to retail.
“Our transformation was driven by a clear vision: to double down on customer centricity and support business growth,” said Deckelbaum. “We recognized the need to evolve in response to shifting consumer expectations and to unify the physical and digital shopping journeys.”
That vision has become the foundation of an enterprise-wide initiative aimed at increasing basket size, accelerating double-digit growth, and boosting engagement across all channels. “To do that, we pursued a next-generation digital experience that personalizes every touchpoint—leveraging AI and automation—while preserving our sleep expertise and assisted selling approach, which truly sets us apart,” she explained.
Deckelbaum emphasized that the transformation wasn’t just about improving the website—it was about fundamentally reimagining how Sleep Country serves customers. “At the heart of this transformation is our commitment to long-term success, staying true to what makes Sleep Country special: our people, our sleep expertise, and our customer promise.”
The decision to innovate was grounded in a clear purpose. “Again, it really stemmed from a clear vision to strengthen our customer-centric approach and drive business growth,” she said.
While the transformation continues to evolve, its roots go back some time. “The foundational question we asked was: How do we bring the magic of our in-store sleep experts—over a thousand strong—into the digital world?” said Deckelbaum.
This led to the development of an assisted online strategy that includes enhanced personalization tools and an interactive, self-guided mattress experience. “We were guided by a deep commitment to digital innovation and a future-focused mindset,” she said. “We formed a cross-functional steering committee that ensured strong change management, stakeholder alignment, associate empowerment, and customer obsession were embedded from day one.”
Deckelbaum outlined a threefold approach to the digital upgrade: unify, personalize, and optimize.
“We unified channels through investments in a Customer Data Platform (CDP) and other technologies, enabling real-time insight and action. AI-powered recommendations and tailored content significantly boosted engagement and conversion,” she said.
Through Google AI tools such as Gemini and Vertex AI, Sleep Country has further strengthened its digital capabilities. “This has improved everything from site search and dynamic image creation to high-quality translations, allowing us to serve customers more effectively across languages and channels,” she noted. “The result is a deeply personalized journey—one that reflects who our customer is, what they need, and when they need it.”
Despite success with its previous model, Sleep Country recognized that change was necessary. “That’s true—our existing model was working well. But we had the foresight to recognize that consumer expectations are constantly evolving. We saw an opportunity not just to keep pace but to stay ahead,” said Deckelbaum.
Rather than a simple refresh, the company set out to build a seamless digital ecosystem. “It wasn’t just a site redesign; it was the creation of an integrated digital ecosystem. We moved away from siloed initiatives toward a unified, cross-channel experience.”
That shift included adopting a mobile-first, AI-powered BigCommerce platform. “It allows us to meet customers where they are—supporting a multi-brand, multi-language experience and laying the foundation for future growth,” she said. “We also transitioned from legacy segmentation models to real-time, behaviour-driven personalization powered by AI and our Customer Data Platform.”
And the transformation isn’t over yet. “The journey is far from over,” Deckelbaum said. “We’re building a flexible, scalable ecosystem with digital experience at the core.”
She added, “Our assisted selling model—rooted in expertise and now digitized—is a unique differentiator. Through our complete sleep ecosystem, we’re delivering better sleep through a unified, human-first experience.”
As the company continues to evolve, its focus remains unwavering. “We’re proud of where we are, but even more excited about where we’re headed—always with the customer at the heart of our next-generation strategy.”
Related Retail Insider stories:
