Emarketer predicts that direct-to-consumer sales will peak at 14.9% of all ecommerce sales in 2025, yet many brands still rely solely on retail sales as a business strategy.
New channels let you tap into additional audiences and volume, spurring growth and helping your business through harder times. After all, there’s a reason our parents always told us not to keep all of our eggs in one basket.
We’re big fans of an omnichannel approach, so we talked to a group of experts on the topic to get their thoughts on why and how to navigate it like a pro.
- Sam Selby, Co-founder, COO & President at Used Mobile Homes USA
- Myra Ryder —Director of Brand Strategy at Ka’Chava
- Dustin Kochis —VP of Retail Strategy and Sales, Ka’Chava
- Andy Wang —Managing Partner & CGO, KC HiLiTES
The case for DTC
For many retail products, adding a DTC channel is a surefire way to increase margins and grow your business.
However, adding a DTC channel isn’t just a way to grow revenue and margin. The upsides also include better relationships with your customers and greater insights to help you grow your brand.
Build stronger relationships with your customers
Dustin Kochis, VP of Sales at Ka’Chava, sees DTC as a powerful tool for connecting with customers. “We view DTC as a way to build stronger relationships with our customers. It’s allowed us to educate them on our mission and products in ways that retail can’t.”
Building these relationships via DTC is an approach that even legacy brands can leverage. Take Andy Wang of KC HiLiTES: when Wang acquired the decades-old company, he knew he wanted to take them digital. But it wasn’t just the margins he was after.
Wang had a vision for a new brand identity that he wasn’t satisfied to leave in the hands of retail partners to represent. To emphasize the brand’s quality and heritage, he built an image-driven website that not only sells products but tells the brand story better than retail alone could.
“We went direct to consumer not only because of the revenue and margin, but because it gives us the ability to control our own destiny. If you can build a quality relationship with your customer, that becomes a moat for your business.”
Own your data
While the benefits of DTC on education and relationships are laudable, there’s a notable third-order benefit of having an ecommerce channel that is arguably just as important: owning your data.
“Having a direct customer channel is everything because it allows you to learn about your customers,” says Sam Selby, Co-founder, COO & President at Used Mobile Homes USA.
Wang agrees. “People are too fixated on margin and revenue. There’s a treasure chest of information when users touch your website or interact with your content.”
Once Wang built his DTC arm, the benefits of owned data began to fuel his business in new ways.
“When we went direct to consumer, we got all of the emails and the psychographic details. It’s a huge help in understanding who your customers are. When you go through distribution, that gets lost,” Wang told us. “That’s another really important thing that has become an asset. Using emails, analytics, and attribution models, that is where the gold is.”
The use cases for good data go both ways. When Myra Ryder, Director of Brand Strategy at Ka’Chava, brought on a new VP of sales to help them go into retail, the existing data from DTC channels was critical in helping them to form a go-to-market strategy. “You really need the data,” says Ryder.
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7 tips for thoughtfully entering DTC
If you’re sold on its benefits, the next logical step is to do some digging into how to make the transition from retail to DTC painless. Here are seven tips from the experts to help you make it as smooth as possible.
1. Define your DTC value proposition
Launching a DTC channel isn’t just about making your products available. It’s about understanding what unique value you’ll offer customers through this new channel.
According to Selby, to succeed, you need to articulate why someone should buy directly from you versus through retail. “You have to figure out what your unique value is because you’re not going to out-Amazon Amazon, and you’re not going to out-Target Target.”
2. Align your DTC and retail strategies
One common concern for retail-driven brands is how a DTC channel might impact existing retail partnerships.
Dustin Kochis, VP of Retail Strategy and Sales at Ka’Chava, emphasizes the importance of alignment. “Your DTC and retail strategies should complement each other, not compete. We’ve found success by ensuring that our retail presence reinforces the brand while DTC drives education and deeper customer engagement.”
For example, offering exclusive products or bundles online can differentiate your DTC channel without undercutting retail partners on price.
Selby shares, “To capture incremental customers without cannibalizing between channels, make sure you’re not just duplicating what your retail partners already offer.”
3. Establish a clear DTC marketing plan
Most business leaders already know the value of a marketing plan, but when opening a new channel, it becomes even more important.
Myra and Dustin from Ka’Chava say, “Whether it’s through partnerships, Instagram, or other ad campaigns, often there’s a familiarity with the brand once the consumer sees the product in-store. Leverage those educational, top-of-funnel touchpoints to stay ahead and top of mind.”
KC HiLiTES beefed up its digital marketing plans to generate a fast margin when it launched DTC. “We used a series of growth hacks to generate that margin. Then we had money to dump into marketing and could control the brand perception at scale,” said Andy.
4. Know what value your retail partners bring
Selby emphasized the importance of knowing the value of retail partners, measuring their value, and finding ways to optimize the channel so you can make the most of the DTC transition. “You really need to understand how retail is different because that will help you take advantage of DTC most effectively.”
Wang finds insight in the pricing models of retail partners. “If the price is the same anywhere you can find it on the web, at the end of the day, that distributor or dealer has to add some value beyond price. If your brand is powerful enough, it makes it so that that dealer has to add some strategic value.” That could come in extra exposure, a new customer base, or strategic learnings from their other partnerships.
“We only work with the partners that add value to our company as a whole,” finished Andy.
5. Invest in expertise
To thrive in DTC, your website needs to offer a seamless and engaging experience. Myra Ryder, Director of Brand Strategy at Ka’Chava, highlights the role of storytelling and user-centric design; “Customers expect more than just a product listing online. They want an experience that reflects your brand’s story and values. Your website should inspire trust, simplify the buying process, and communicate your unique benefits.”
She adds, “You need to find specialists and give it 110%… don’t divert people and time from other teams.” For Myra, that meant partnering with specialists like Dustin to own retail entry and The Good to optimize their DTC website.
6. Prepare for omnichannel success
Moving to an omnichannel approach comes with logistical and operational complexities. Andy Wang advises brands to prepare for changes in demand and fulfillment.
“When you add a DTC channel, you’re not just adding revenue—you’re adding complexity. From inventory management to customer service, everything needs to scale to meet new demands.”
This can include integrating inventory systems, ensuring consistent pricing, and aligning marketing efforts across channels.
And while channel conflict can set you back, there are plenty of ways to combat it. Even tweaks to the actual product can make your omnichannel strategy more successful. When Ka’Chava entered into retail, for example, they changed the packaging to reflect what DTC customers learned about via the website and shrunk down the retail package to land at a price point that was more palatable for new customers.
7. Don’t fret cannibalization
Kochis says there is “no magic formula” for predicting how a new channel will impact another channel’s sales, and the endeavor is short-sighted anyway.
When brought on to help Ka’Chava enter retail, he warned the team about the possibility of seeing an initial dip in ecommerce sales, but he said not to worry. “It’s a long play,” says Kochis.
Unlock a DTC strategy like the experts
Launching DTC is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor. As we established, data is your biggest ally in DTC. Track everything—from website traffic and conversion rates to customer feedback. Use these insights to continually refine your approach.
Expanding into DTC can unlock new opportunities for growth and customer engagement, but it requires careful planning and execution. By defining your value proposition, aligning with retail strategies, optimizing the digital experience, and adapting to omnichannel demands, you can set your brand up for success.
Ready to take the leap? We have many resources on DTC ecommerce from 15+ years of optimizing for brands like yours. Check them out here.
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About the Author
Natalie Thomas
Natalie Thomas is the Director of Digital Experience & UX Strategy at The Good. She works alongside ecommerce and product marketing leaders every day to produce sustainable, long term growth strategies.