Back in the day, most brands just sold their lines wholesale into stores, who in turn sold them to consumers. How quaint it all seems now in today’s fast-paced omnichannel world that reaches the consumer 24/7, wherever he or she may be.

Selling direct to consumer—or DTC—is on a surging trajectory. Today, brands large and small want to connect with their customers directly, script their own brand narrative and have larger control over their inventory and selling model.

The rise of e-commerce has made this all possible, with ever lower barriers to entry. And as shopping moved online during the pandemic, e-commerce became an essential lifeline, shifting consumer behavior in irreversible ways. Direct to consumer continues to increase in market share, with sales rising from slightly less than $7 billion in 2017 to a projected $21.2 billion in 2021.

Pivoting to direct selling and surviving in the fiercely competitive direct-to-consumer world isn’t easy, especially with native DTC brands already thriving in that space. However, a whole industry of new players and technologies have cropped up to help brands facilitate business and conduct commerce in this way. This includes dealing with everything from supply chain and logistics, to inventory management, payment processing, enhancing presentations with AR and VR, and much more.

Download the report to read about:

• Why Nike, Crocs and Under Armour are replacing much of their wholesale business with DTC
• How successful digital natives like Bonobos & Untuckit have pivoted through disruption
• Why the ‘exponential growth’ in shipments using the in de minimis provision is fueling DTC
• Why on-demand manufacturing may just be the future of DTC
• What legacy retailers are learning from native DTC brands
• Solutions to the surge in delivery costs
• How AR and VR are bringing online shopping to life
• What DTC beauty brands can teach the apparel industry