The D2C market in focus

Direct to consumer The D2C market in focus

Published on 02.09.2020 by Philippe Mettler, Digital Commerce Consultant, Post CH Ltd

In partnership with the University of St. Gallen and Spryker Systems GmbH, Swiss Post has conducted a study on the direct-to-consumer market. Here are some insights in brief.

The idea of manufacturers supplying their end customers directly is not a new phenomenon.But the digitization of retail has heavily accelerated this development over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular has clearly shown how important it is not to rely on a single sales channel. It is also worth thinking about alternative channels for sales and marketing because customers’ purchasing habits and expectations are changing. Digital touchpoints now play a key role in many purchasing decisions.

What is the state of online direct selling in 2020?

What brands rely on D2C and which ones are not (yet) doing so? To find this out, we reviewed all brands on the German website Markenlexikon for nine selected industries to check whether they had their own online shop.

Frequency of a D2C online shop by industry

Where do companies actually stand?

We were interested in the benefits companies gain from D2C selling, but also in the challenges that they have to face. To investigate this, we conducted interviews with 14 Swiss and German companies. As we already showed in another article, we were able to divide companies into three clusters. These are followers, strategists and market leaders.

Positive experiences dominate

In general, all companies said that they were generally satisfied with their current D2C strategy and their online shops. The level of satisfaction is dependent on the respective share of revenue. It also became apparent that having your own online shop now rarely results in other sales outlets raising objections. This common concern about entering the D2C market is therefore unfounded.

Full study results

In the study we present many fascinating insights from various companies there, and provide useful tools for entering and developing the D2C market further.

Would you like us to present individual insights directly at your premises? Please contact us directly.

Philippe Mettler, Digital Commerce Consultant, Post CH Ltd

Philippe Mettler has many years of experience in consulting and project implementation, particularly in e-commerce, web and PIM. He has wide range of practical knowledge from customers from various sectors. Using this knowledge, he helps our customers further develop their digital competence and successfully operate in digital commerce.

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