Dive Brief:

• Casper on Tuesday announced its mattresses and sleep accessories will be sold in some Nordstrom stores and on its website beginning this month.

• The direct-to-consumer brand's products will initially be available in 31 of Nordstrom's full-line stores across the country, according to a company press release.

• The tie-up pushes Casper's retail partnerships to 23, which also include Target, Costco and Sam's Club.

Dive Insight:

While e-commerce has been the preferred channel of shopping for many since the pandemic began, Casper clearly still sees value in taking things offline.

DTC brands increasingly have moved to enter physical retail — either through partnerships, pop-ups or owned stores — as marketing costs associated with customer acquisition become prohibitively high.

Casper, a so-called darling in the direct-to-consumer space, pulled back the curtain into its finances when it filed to go public early this year, revealing that it spent $126.2 million on marketing expenses in 2018 — 35% of its revenue that year. While that percentage appears to be narrowing, it still proves the value in entering the physical market to cut costs.

The mattress brand does operate more than 60 of its own stores, and earlier this year inked new retail partnerships with regional home players. But a partnership with Nordstrom may help Casper place its product in front of a new set of customers while providing a relatively low-risk way for it to enter new markets.

"Partnering with a premier retailer like Nordstrom is another step towards advancing our multi-channel distribution strategy to reach more customers wherever they prefer to shop," Casper's Chief Commercial Officer and President Emilie Arel said in a statement.

Nordstrom is no stranger to housing direct-to-consumer brands. The department store has previously formed partnerships with Glossier, Away, Bonobos and Kim Kardashian's Skims shapewear brand, among others.

The partnership also helps expand Nordstrom's assortment beyond the apparel and footwear it's known for. The pandemic has fueled a boom in the home category in recent months, and executives in August said they were aware of the need to offer more casual attire and home goods as people remain stuck at home. Nordstrom will feature a selection of Casper's mattresses, pillows, sheets and weighted blankets within its "Nordstrom At Home" department, which includes everyday items for personal spaces, per the release.

"Now more than ever, our homes are the most important places in our lives," Olivia Kim, vice president of Creative Projects and Home at Nordstrom, said in a statement. "This partnership allows us to serve customers incredible Home items in an accessible and easy-to-shop way."