Main investment areas for D2C sales in Europe 2022

Investing in direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels might mean investing in e-commerce. When asked about their investment areas to expand D2C business, 34 percent of professionals from companies from the UK, Benelux, and Nordics mentioned e-commerce shopfront, while tools of customer relationship management (CRM) came second with one-third of answers. Improved data management and analytics ranked third, with 31 percent of answers. Additionally, around 26 percent of surveyed professionals indicated warehouse management systems as a further area to address their investment. This was also the biggest challenge for companies migrating to D2C commerce in Europe, together with setting up digital channels and management of parcel carriers.

Delivery is more essential than ever in D2C

European D2C enterprises are challenged by the numerous delivery options customers expect to choose from. From next-day delivery to click-and-collect, and orders split to same-day delivery, customers require flexible shipping. However, delivery is unlikely to be entirely free for shoppers, as data from the UK showed that global D2C brands charge shoppers around 3.2 British pounds for standard delivery and twice as much for express delivery, on average.

What to avoid in subscription business

When D2C companies deliver orders according to subscription models, product prices and general costs of order fulfillment appear as essential factors. Nearly one-third of U.S. consumers would cancel their D2C subscription due higher costs, product availability, or irregular deliveries. This represented a common scenario in the first half of 2022, when recession hit shoppers the most.