Post Covid-19 Era: Why Brands are Looking at Expanding D2C Reach

Post Covid-19 Era: Why Brands are Looking at Expanding D2C Reach
D2C businesses manufacture, market, sell and ship their products to customers without relying on middlemen such as distributors or traditional retail stores.

By Joy chatterjee , General Manger - Sales and Marketing, Mankind Pharma

16 Mar 2021 | 6 min read

Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic created havoc in the industry. Companies faced a steep decline in their revenue sheets due to the supply chain hit, extended lockdown, and consumers' preference to stay indoors and this has further led to a disruption across categories. After a few months of lockdown, companies realised uncertainty is the only certainty in business.

D2C businesses manufacture, market, sell and ship their products to customers without relying on middlemen such as distributors or traditional retail stores. The channels provide the best results with an ideal platform for such messaging, as well as helps them show substantial reasons to purchase directly - as it offers differentiation and wider audience, unique shopping experience, and desirable pricing. All such factors have made D2C a very important part of e-commerce in the coming years.

Many companies decided to turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity, and turned to D2C routes to make it a necessity to see revenue grows, this phenomenon increased the number of online shoppers and sales gradually increased. In the last year, D2C adoption in India has been on the rise as more and more companies are tapping the potential to grow their business. 

However, traditional sales distribution of brick-and-mortar is not going anywhere but e-commerce will gain its share. Covid-19 forced people to order from the comfort of home and it allowed e-commerce players to create a dominating position for themselves. Many brands decided to build their platforms keeping in mind the possible future trend.

There are brands in India which started their D2C channels for some years now and have retained better customer acquisition but brands like Mankind Pharma which started their D2C website during the pandemic have the best time to get discovered and acquire a better pie of the results. 

This states that there is a lot of potential that lies in the medium. But companies have to invest strategically to build the channel and should offer personalized content to engage with consumers on a meaningful level. 

As Covid-19 has transformed consumer behaviour buying patterns, people have become more inclined towards e-commerce to buy daily essentials. This trend indicates a massive opportunity for D2C brands to succeed. The platform can help companies to achieve at least a 15 -25 percent profit after operating costs. The customers’ proclivity of making regular online purchases have given the industry a huge boost and will continue to do so in the coming years as well. 

Just like traditional methods, D2C model also provide companies an opportunity to interact with potential buyers virtually. This further gives organisations a chance to understand their customer’s needs, about their specific demands, and offer the window to engage better with them through emails, apps, and social media. 

Not only this, following D2C approach gives you the benefit of tracking and analysing new consumer behaviour. With this methodology, companies need to address distinguished behavioural patterns between first-time and loyal online consumers to tap them in an effective and customized manner. 

This aspect has also led brands to redefine their marketing strategies by giving more impetus to their D2C communication.

To sum up, the future is bright for D2C, brands have realised the important aspect and have started leveraging the medium before it gets too late. Companies are smartly and steadily shifting the core strategies to get more and more customers to get on the brands’ owned channels, increase the margins, and engage them will relatable content at the right time, and drive their e-commerce medium.

Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic created havoc in the industry. Companies faced a steep decline in their revenue sheets due to the supply chain hit, extended lockdown, and consumers' preference to stay indoors and this has further led to a disruption across categories. After a few months of lockdown, companies realised uncertainty is the only certainty in business.

D2C businesses manufacture, market, sell and ship their products to customers without relying on middlemen such as distributors or traditional retail stores. The channels provide the best results with an ideal platform for such messaging, as well as helps them show substantial reasons to purchase directly - as it offers differentiation and wider audience, unique shopping experience, and desirable pricing. All such factors have made D2C a very important part of e-commerce in the coming years.

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