E-commerce has played a key role in helping companies adapt to a world dominated by online shopping. As COVID-19 demonstrated, e-commerce was instrumental in surviving the challenges of the pandemic and will remain a pivotal asset for companies as they continue to face economic challenges. Direct-to-consumer capabilities can help many companies develop better relationships with their customers—but many companies are struggling to make the move from traditional business models to D2C models.

Direct-to-consumer e-commerce—the practice of selling a product directly to consumers via a company’s own website, thus bypassing third-party retailers or wholesalers—offers an opportunity for innovative brands to build direct relationships with their customers. This kind of e-commerce allows companies to directly interact with end consumers, which helps steer brand strategy and innovation based on real-time consumer insights. These insights can help a company answer consumer needs directly, thereby maximizing both consumers’ commitment to the brand and their lifetime value. In the competitive landscape, direct-to-consumer e-commerce can act as a defensive measure in the long term and allow companies to capture a larger share of an increasingly online market.