In a new report, wholesale platform Joor unveiled key trends shaping the wholesale market for 2025. Shifts in buyer behavior, the growing power of independent retailers, and the evolving role of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands in wholesale is shifting the retail environment. As the wholesale landscape evolves, Joor’s insights offer a roadmap for businesses aiming to capitalize on emerging opportunities.
DTC brands are warming up to wholesale. Joor emphasizes that, as DTC companies face rising customer acquisition costs and increasing operational challenges in 2024, wholesale is becoming a crucial strategy for brands seeking growth and market positioning.
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“It used to be fairly easy and cost-effective for brands to find and convert new customers through Instagram and Google ads, but increased customer acquisition costs as well as the challenges of customers expecting free shipping and high return rates, have made it harder and harder for DTC-only brands to generate a positive ROI,” Joor stated.
DTC companies, as well as global brands like Nike, are increasingly exploring ways to diversify their distribution models, with wholesale emerging as a key strategy. Joor highlights the numerous advantages for brands that secure placements in department stores and boutiques, including enhanced brand visibility, access to a broader customer base, and the opportunity to solidify their market positioning. Furthermore, investors view strong wholesale partnerships as a sign of brand momentum and growth potential.
“Strategically expanding with quality wholesale partners drives new customer acquisition and increases sales volume through more points of distribution,” Joor stated.
Brand management companies like Marquee Brands, WHP and Authentic Brands Group will continue to flex their muscle in 2025. Joor said their “asset-light business model” streamlines operations to focus on IP and lighten costs, offering a solution to several economic challenges that plague traditional retail.
“In 2025, we predict even more retail businesses will be added to brand management companies’ portfolios increasing their complexities,” Joor stated.
Wholesale retailers will need to adjust to a global slowdown in luxury fashion in 2025 as consumers start to question the value of the goods and deprioritize high-end clothing and accessories.
Joor advises that buyers need to adapt to a growing reluctance among consumers to pay premium prices for luxury items. One effective strategy, according to Joor, is to introduce contemporary brands that bridge the gap between mass-market and high-end designer labels. The platform’s 2025 market survey reveals that 29 percent of buyers actively seeking new brands are motivated by the desire to discover options at more accessible price points.
Joor added that “luxury brands should be thoughtful about including entry-level items in their line sheets, while diffusion lines with an elevated brand perception can feel confident in taking advantage of this market opportunity.”
This conservative approach to buying is already taking shape in retail. Joor’s transaction data shows that buyers have reduced their average price point by 7 percent. “This decline is occurring across all regions of the world, with EMEA and APAC both down 7 percent to last year and North American retailers on average reducing their price per unit by 5 percent,” the report stated.
Highly curated assortments and under-the-radar brands are some of the factors driving independent retailers’ success. Joor said independent boutiques are playing an “increasingly significant role in driving growth across the global fashion sector,” adding that the percentage of total wholesale transaction volume on Joor attributed to independent retailers has increased 47 percent to 59 percent over the past five years.
The independent channel plays an even greater role in EMEA and APAC, where the percentages are 74 percent and 76 percent respectively.
