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started making purchases directly from their favourite • Offering reward programs for loyal customers
brands, leading to the rise of the D2C model. • Sending handwritten notes with customer orders
• Providing tips and tricks on social media platforms
E-commerce D2C sales in the U.S. are on an upward trend
with no sign of slowing down. The projected sales for 2021 According to Bain & Company, brand loyalty also leads
are $21.25 billion – more than triple the amount from just to customer retention, and they also say it only takes a 5%
four years ago. This trend in the U.S. is also happening increase in loyal customers for a company to see 25% more
globally. 40% of internet users indicate that within the next profit.
5 years, 40% of purchases will be from direct-to-consumer
brands. How to get your e-commerce business ready for D2C
While exact strategies vary from brand to brand, here are
Benefits of the direct-to-consumer model three considerations for getting started with D2C:
Selling D2C provides
benefits for both the “THERE’S A SIMPLE 1. Create a process plan
brand and its customers. When switching to a D2C
personalised experience, and REASON WHY D2C BRANDS strategy, you increase your
Consumers get a more
profits by not using a
SEE LARGER PROFIT
e-commerce companies can middleman, but you lose
increase profit margins and some benefits that come
MARGINS THAN OTHER have to deal with customer
customer loyalty. with them – namely, you’ll
Larger profit margins queries directly. Either you
There’s a simple reason E-COMMERCE SELLERS: NO or your employees will have
why D2C brands see larger to take up the customer
MIDDLEMAN IS TAKING A
profit margins than other service role to engage with
e-commerce sellers: No customers rather than rely
CUT OF THEIR PRODUCT’S
middleman is taking a cut of on intermediaries.
their product’s retail price.
RETAIL PRICE.” Marketplace management
Because of these higher platforms like
profit margins, many D2C ChannelEngine can
companies opt to price their help ease the burden by
products lower on their own channels than other retailers. taking care of returns and handling shipping and tracking
According to Retail Dive, lower prices are the number one information, meaning fewer queries for your team to handle.
reason consumers choose D2C brands over others, closely
followed by simple return policies and fast, free shipping. 2. Choose the right channels
When transitioning to a direct-to-consumer business model,
Personalised customer experience you’ll have to determine which channels to use to reach
Direct-to-consumer brands get higher-quality data on their your customers. The most important aspects to consider
customers that they usually don’t get to see when selling when choosing the proper channels for your D2C business
through a large retailer. Using this data, D2C sellers can are: giving your customers a smooth, hassle-free shopping
build a more personalised experience for their customers – experience and ensuring the experience is the same across
which is vital, considering 80% of shoppers would instead each channel. D2C channels to focus on are:
purchase from brands that offer more personalisation. A
McKinsey study found that personalisation leads to: • Online marketplaces to connect your store with
customers worldwide
• 10–20% reduction in marketing and sales costs • E-commerce platforms to integrate your store with
• 20% higher customer satisfaction rates existing back-end systems
• 10–15% higher sales conversion rates • Click & ad channels for your direct-to-consumer
advertising efforts
Higher brand loyalty
Loyal customers are the foundation of any D2C 3. Integrate with marketplaces
e-commerce business. Selling directly to the consumer gives Going direct to the consumer doesn’t mean that you can
brands some advantages in this department compared to only sell your products on your company website. With the
wholesale marketplaces. D2C sellers can help build brand right tools, you can integrate your business with the biggest
loyalty by doing things like: domestic and international marketplaces.

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