2021 will be the year of D2C
Covid-19 has moved eCommerce forward by five years. I expect this massive increase in market share to continue, at the expense of bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Online retailers are now engaged in a well known battle for market share against the giants like Amazon and eBay, and that will continue and become even more competitive.
However, the most important trend for me is the rise of brands executing Direct to Consumer (D2C) strategies. For brands, cutting out the retailer gives them increased margin and a more direct understanding of their consumers. For brands with the ability to execute efficiently, going D2C opens up multiple new possibilities, including:
- Subscription models
- Access to a wealth of customer data
- The ability to directly market to consumers via email, mobile app and other targeted, low cost channels, by passing the stranglehold of paid channels
So, my prediction is that 2021 will be the year of D2C.