Data, diversification and digital spaces: Direct-to-consumer marketing trends in 2023

Mike Cheetham

As a growing number of players have learned, the direct-to-consumer playbook is no path to easy riches – as the DTC landscape evolves and the market moves into 2023, approaches and tactics are becoming more sophisticated and nuanced.

Lower overhead costs, the potential for closer relationships with customers and a surge in online retail contributed to a surge in e-commerce – with clear, knock-on benefits for Direct To Consumer brands – during the pandemic. But now, in the face of recession, the prospects for DTC in 2023 are more nuanced.

At first glance, growth rates are the stand-out story.

In the US, for example, DTC ecommerce sales for established brands were forecast to reach $117.47bn this year(2022) – more than 3x larger than for digitally-native brands – and predicted to reach $161.22 million by 2024....

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