What Is The 'Mattress Firm Conspiracy Theory,' And Could It Be True?

For the past few years, people have been spreading an interesting conspiracy theory about the big brand Mattress Firm. While it may seem like an odd topic for a conspiracy, it’s not one of the most ridiculous out there, even though it’s still rather far-fetched. Here’s why millions of people believe a conspiracy that Mattress Firm is a massive money laundering scheme.

What Is The Mattress Firm Conspiracy Theory?

Simply put, the Mattress Firm conspiracy theory is the belief that the company and all (or most) of its stores serve as money laundering operations or as fronts for other illegal activity. There’s only one reason people believe this theory to be true, and it’s a weirdly thought-provoking one — there are just too many mattress stores out there.

There are over 2,300 Mattress Firms in the United States. Adding in other mattress stores, the number is close to 10,000. In comparison, Starbucks currently has fewer than 16,000 stores in the US, and it feels like there’s one on every corner.

After this was pointed out in 2015 and popularized by one of Shane Dawson’s conspiracy theory videos, people began to take note of the many mattress stores around them, noticing that they also were appearing in pretty much every commercial shopping center. Sometimes, they’re even in the same strip mall or across the street from one another.

The reason many people buy into the theory is that mattress stores are rarely occupied by anyone but the management. Very few people visit mattress stores, and when they do, it’s only about once a decade.

Owning a mattress store would hypothetically be an easy way to launder money, meaning the staff could claim they sold more of these high-priced items than they actually did in order to create a believable origin for illegally-earned money. Again, hypothetically, of course.

Why (And How) Are People Talking About The Mattress Firm Conspiracy Theory?

This theory is often considered one of the most believable out there since money laundering is a very real thing and only a small fraction of people have set foot in a mattress store in the last decade. There’s no flat Earth or reptile people attached to this theory, so people are a lot more inclined to discuss it online without being ridiculed.

One trend that started up as a result of this theory involves people driving around and posting videos of all the mattress stores they pass by, with Mattress Firm in particular as the main focus of the videos. Many of these vlogs have shown just how many Mattress Firms there are in a small town, something many people never really took note of before.

Inspired by these videos, pretty much anyone could investigate this theory on their own by counting the number of Mattress Firms they see near their homes. Yes, the number will be surprisingly high, but it still doesn’t really mean anything.

Is The Mattress Firm Conspiracy Theory True?

There’s no real reason to believe this conspiracy is true. At the same time, there’s no way someone hasn't set up a mattress store to launder money. It’s just too obvious of a choice. But at a systemic level, it’s extremely unlikely that Mattress Firm or any other mattress chains have done anything like this.

When you think about the number of mattress stores more closely, it’s not that unreasonable that there are so many. Many are meant to serve very large populations, and with just over two thousand mattress stores in the US, that’s around 143,000 people being served by just one mattress firm.

Another reason why Mattress Firms seem to stay open despite having so little business is the profit ratio. Despite being made with pretty cheap materials, mattresses are expensive. So are protection plans, bedroom furniture, and anything else they can add on to a single sale. With a few big sales a month, these stores can cover their costs fairly easily.

So while it’s not impossible that the weird off-brand mattress shop in your local alley has something shady going on, it’s very unlikely that the Mattress Firm conspiracy is real. In fact, the company is probably starting to get weirded out by how much people online really want it to be real. Theorize about it all you want, but maybe take this conspiracy theory with a grain of salt.

For the full details on the Mattress Firm conspiracy, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.