Adopting these trends will help D2C brands gain an edge in the market
D2C or direct-to-consumer brands have seen immense growth in the past few years. The year 2023 looks promising for D2C brands as well. The D2C market is expected to hit the $100 bill by 2025.
The D2C space is getting more competitive. Getting a heads-up about the latest trends in the space will help D2C brands get an edge and grow.
So, here are a few trends that will dominate the D2C space in 2023.
- Hyper-personalisation
This simply means that the products are curated to suit a person’s requirements and are not generic in nature. Brands across segments agree that customers have become clearer about what they want and voice their opinions. Therefore, offering them a product by adding a personal touch has become important.
“More brands are coming to realise that one size does not fit all. In the coming times, the beauty and wellness space will see a large amount of personalization in products as per each individual’s requirements, tastes and preferences,” said Sargam Dhawan Bhayana, director of Tressmart Marketing Pvt. Ltd.
- Tech-enabled experiences
“Customer experience can be improved through new-age technology advancements that are giving a more immersive and smooth shopping experience through a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR),” said Pankaj Maini, founder of personal care brand Boi Bae.
Using a combination of AI, VR and AR helps increase consumer activity while also assisting brands in data collection for more accurate consumer recommendations.
- Sampling
“In 2023, sampling will play a major role in the D2C space,” said Aakash Anand, founder of the D2C skincare brand Bella Vita Organic.
The idea behind this is that most consumers are open to trying a wide variety of products and new brands. Consumers do not fear experimenting with new products instead of sticking to their favourite ones.
“There is no better way to understand the taste and quality than trying samples. Brands benefit from this too as they have a better chance of leaving an impact on the customers,” added Anand.
- Online-to-Offline
“After carving a niche for themselves in the online space, D2C brands are now expanding and growing beyond digital channels and spreading their footprint across offline channels,” said Paridhi Goel, co-founder of Love Earth.
The idea behind entering the physical store space is to reach a larger consumer base as more and more users want to touch and feel the product before buying it.
- Influencer engagement
Marketing is the way to lower barriers that exist between a consumer and a brand. Social media will play a larger role in achieving this in 2023 according to industry representatives. “Social media has a terrific way to begin constructing that crucial social proof and brand image that is enough to dominate the market with your brand,” said Vivek Gupta, founder and director of Yourspex.
“All you need is an idea behind content creation that seems knowledgeable to people that they can relate to and influence engagement to add a spark of interaction and build trust,” added Gupta.
Social media is where D2C players can create magic and be game changers.
- Sustainability
Sustainability has already been playing a major role in D2C space for the past few years and it will continue to dominate the space in 2023 as well. “Each brand is coming forward as a sustainable brand and is proving itself as sustainable and conscious in the best possible manner,” said Maini from Boi Bae.
The reason that most brands want to be recognized as sustainable is that climate change has started to affect more and more customers as well as brands.
“Values of ethical sourcing, clean labeling and recycling will be more prominent even in the beauty and wellness space,” said Bhayana from Tressmart Marketing Pvt. Ltd.
