The news: Warby Parker will open five Target shop-in-shops this year, the companies said. The partnership reflects both the direct-to-consumer (D2C) company’s deeper push into brick-and-mortar retail and the big-box chain’s need to create new reasons for shoppers to visit its stores.

The strategy: Warby Parker’s deal with Target marks the latest evolution in the D2C model, as companies once confident they could make it on their own rely more heavily on physical stores and partnerships with established retailers to acquire customers and drive sales.

That strategy worked well for fellow D2C startup Rothy’s: The sustainable shoe brand had its best year on record in 2024 after it began testing wholesale relationships with Amazon, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Anthropologie and expanded its brick-and-mortar footprint.