81% Of Consumers Plan To Shop Direct-To-Consumer Brands

Direct-to-consumer brands are capturing more of the American retail market, based on their differentiators of convenience, product quality and fast and free (or low-cost) shipping, according to new research from Diffusion emailed to Retail Dive. A third of U.S. consumers plan to do at least 40% of their shopping from D2C companies in the next five years, and 81% say they’ll make at least one purchase from a D2C brand within the next five years, Diffusion found in its “2018 Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Intent Index.” But there are limits, according to Diffusion. Just 9% of Americans say customer service from D2C brands is superior to that of traditional brands, and 7% find their returns process easier. Replenishment doesn’t help much: Just 6% of Americans prefer D2C brands because they automatically send products they use regularly. Just 2% to 3% of newer D2C brands have more than $1 billion in online sales, demonstrating that sales still mostly occur through traditional retailers, according to another study from e-commerce solutions firm PipeCandy. Read more at Retail Dive.