Business Models
Direct-to-Consumer
Also Known As D2C
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Direct-to-consumer is a business model in which a company sells its products directly to end customers, bypassing third-party retailers, wholesalers and other intermediaries. It is a modern variant of the business-to-consumer model, most often executed through a company's own e-commerce channels. The approach became especially popular during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, when it primarily referred to online retailers selling directly to consumers over the internet.
Facts
Core MechanismA manufacturer or brand sells directly to end consumers through its own channels, typically online, eliminating the margins and loss of control that come from routing sales through wholesalers or third-party retailers. 1 Origin YearDirect-to-consumer e-commerce became prominent during the late-1990s dot-com boom; direct selling itself is far older (mail-order catalogs, door-to-door sales) but this year marks the model's modern, internet-native form. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Direct-to-Consumer
WikipediaHistory sectionQuote, History section
immensely popular during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, when it primarily referred to online retailers that sold products and services to consumers over the Internet
1. Wikipedia, Direct-to-Consumer
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Direct-to-consumer (DTC or D2C) is a modern variation of the business-to-consumer (B2C) business model.
1. Wikipedia, Direct-to-Consumer
WikipediaExamples sectionQuote, Examples section
Examples of DTC brands currently in business include: Allbirds, Away, Dollar Shave Club, Everlane, Glossier, and Warby Parker.
Open Questions (1 open question)
Does direct-to-consumer have a defensible single origin year, or only a long practice history with a distinct modern resurgence?
Wikipedia's article states the model originated before modern transportation and electricity, when geography forced local consumption, and separately that it became immensely popular during the late-1990s dot-com bubble as a labeled online-retail strategy. These are two different eras for two different senses of the term, and no single year can honestly represent the model's origin.
What would resolve this A source naming a specific first documented instance of direct-to-consumer selling as a deliberate strategy, or one confirming that the modern labeled sense of the term begins specifically with the 1990s wave this research found, with named firms and a year.
Wikipedia, Direct-to-Consumer
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