Direct-To-Consumer Brands Are Out-Marketing Traditional Retailers–But It Comes At A Cost

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands continue to up-end business models and rewrite the playbook on how to engage customers. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone in retail that a new report from CommerceNext shows an increasing divide in e-commerce marketing spending and priorities between traditional retailers and digital-first DTC brands. The research clearly demonstrates that one of the biggest differences between traditional retailers and DTC brands is their investment in marketing. Marketing budgets across all retail business models are on the rise: 65% of respondents said their 2019 budget increased over the previous year. Conversely, only 10% of marketers indicated that they are reducing their budget. However, DTC brands’ budgets are increasing at a higher rate. In 2019, 78% of DTC marketers said their budgets had increased, compared to 60% of traditional retailers. Read more at Forbes.