The emergence of new companies selling direct online has been a big story for some time. Mattress brands Casper and Emma, luggage maker Away, beauty company Glossier, and garment retailer Happy Socks were among the first highly successful direct-to-consumer (D2C) firms, many of them based in Europe.
Like several other digital retail trends, D2C has been further propelled by market conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Shopify’s Q1 2020 earnings report noted that the number of new stores set up on its platform rose by 62% between March 13 and April 24, compared with the prior six weeks, while the number of new stores created in less than three days jumped by 85%. During the same period, 45% of consumers made purchases from a merchant they’d never shopped with previously. And according to SimilarWeb, discretionary spending boosted many D2C firms in the UK during the country’s first lockdown, especially those in the hobbies and lifestyle category.
Data from The Direct Selling Association UK in late 2020 found that its member companies had seen average sales growth of 45.5% through the direct channel for the year to date.
D2C channels enable brands to differentiate themselves, freeing them from rules imposed by marketplaces or third-party partnerships, for example.
In Spain, a little more than two-thirds (67%) of marketing and communications professionals polled by Good Rebels said that direct selling gave them more control and knowledge of user data, and 57% said it provided more opportunities to personalize customer experience.