Logistics Tech for Last-Mile Efficiency in Direct to Consumer Selling

As in-store retail shrinks and consumers turn to online for essential and non-essential shopping, there is a new shift towards direct to consumer selling among retail and CPG brands.

What is Direct to Consumer Selling?

Direct to Consumer or D2C selling is a retail strategy wherein brands sell merchandise directly to consumers without involving distributors/wholesalers.

D2C Fulfillment Options

In-House Fulfillment	Fulfillment by E-commerece marketplace	3PL Provider
Managing in-house fulfillment without help of 3PL provider	Compaines selling their items through Amazon/any other marketplace. Amazon underakes fulfillment activities	Outsourcing the entire fulfillment process to the thirs-party logistics provider
Level of control: High	Level of control: Low	Level of control: Medium
Scalability: Low	Scalability: High	Scalability: High
Affordability: Low	Affordability: Low	Affordability: Medium
Best suited for starter D2C business or small E-commerece stores	Best suited for smaller or emergency brands	Best suited for large and growing e-commerce stores
Not suited for bigger and growing companies	Not suited for big brands as there are possibilities of cloning	Not suited for small and starter D2C business

Direct to Consumer: The Rising Popularity

Brands are taking the D2C path now more than ever before

From 2016 to 2019, Direct to Consumer E-commerce grew at three to six times the rate of overall E-commerce sales. (eMarketer)
D2C sales are forecasted to account for $17.75 billion of total E-commerce sales in 2020, up 24.3% from the last year. (eMarketer)
Globally, D2C startups have raised between $8 billion to $10 billion in known venture capital across more than 600 deals since the start of 2019. (TechCrunch)
Today, more than 57% of consumer brand manufacturers are embracing D2C selling. (DigitalCommerce360)
52% of DTC brands experienced surges in demand since the start of the pandemic. (Forbes)
By 2023, 75% of D2C brands are expected to offer subscription-based services. (MultiChannelMerchant)

Consumers, too, prefer buying directly from brands

By 2022, the number of DTC E-commerce buyers will reach a milestone at 103.4 million. (eMarketer)
A third of U.S. consumers plan to do at least 40% of their shopping from D2C companies in the next five years. (DiffusionPR)
81% of consumers say they’ll make at least one purchase from a D2C brand within the next five years. (DiffusionPR)
More than one in four — 27% American consumers will purchase D2C products in the next five years because of greater convenience. (DiffusionPR)
Two-thirds of consumers expect the ability to connect directly with brands. (DigitalCommerce360)