Walmart, which overtook Apple last year to become the third-largest US etailer, is widening the gap with Apple. Walmart’s ecommerce sales will grow nearly 33% this year to $27.81 billion.

Dismayed by a shortage of high-quality bras, and limited store inventory, Heidi Zak co-founded the direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup ThirdLove in 2013. The mission was simple: make shopping for a bra a better experience. With a strong focus on personalization, ThirdLove stocked a wide range of sizes and styles and used customer data to create an innovative buyer journey.

Direct-to-consumer brands are growing fast and disrupting the retail industry. How are these brands successfully reaching and converting customers, earning their loyalty, and capturing more of their online and offline spending?

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands such as Warby Parker, Casper and Everlane have shifted how brands interact with their customers. By cutting out the middleman and establishing online relationships with customers directly, guaranteeing swift delivery and painless buying experiences, as well as positioning themselves as a better alternative to the status quo, DTC brands are carving out a new retail experience.

Retail is in the midst of a transformation, at both physical stores and online. This report examines 10 trends that will most shape retail in the year ahead.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands—encompassing everything from startups like Billie offering women's razor subscriptions to Casper, the once online-only mattress company that has products now being sold at Target—have been growing in popularity for a variety of reasons.

Many companies now use big data to optimize marketing efforts, but what about broader company initiatives? eMarketer explores how some firms are using marketing data to power product and merchandising efforts.