The D2C Summit: Unveiling The Agenda For India’s Largest D2C & Ecommerce Conference

D2C is no longer an outlier in the ecommerce ecosystem. The direct-to-consumer segment has become ground zero for innovation as well as investments in ecommerce, and its ripple effects have given new wings to the creator economy and propelled fintech and logistics tech as well.

India is now home to 50K+ digital first brands — a mix of new-age startups and legacy retail giants going D2C. Admittedly, this explosion of brands and D2C startups has created a feeling that this segment is hitting a saturation point of sorts.

Even though it may seem like the D2C wave is subsiding amid the funding crunch and slowdown in consumer spending due to inflation, there is a massive opportunity to be unlocked over the next 5-6 years. India saw over 165 Mn online shoppers in India in FY22, which is expected to double by the end of this decade.

So D2C has not hit the growth ceiling, and what startups need right now is a stage and forum to reach the next level. India has already produced D2C giants that are making waves across consumer segments and even overseas.

With the D2C Summit 2022, we are bringing these iconic brands, ecommerce enablers, emerging startups and investors together once more to catalyse the next growth phase for online retail. Brought to you by Pickrr and co-presented by BharatX, D2C Summit 3.0 will host 75+ industry stalwarts from the ecommerce and D2C ecosystem.

Scheduled for September 16 and 17, 2022, the D2C Summit 3.0 is supported by the likes of Cashfree Payments, Salesforce, Delhivery, Freshworks, Cashflo and PayU.

What’s Different About D2C Summit 2022?

We have tracked the D2C space closely since 2020, and after two successful events in July 2021 and December 2021, we are back with the third edition of the D2C Summit.

Today, the needs of companies have changed and as D2C businesses continue to look to take ownership of the customer journey in every possible manner, one of the biggest challenges for these brands is the spiralling costs.

Now, the focus is back on sustainability after a record-breaking 2021, which saw Licious become a unicorn, soon joined by GlobalBees and Mensa Brands, two of India’s fastest unicorns.

A report by HDFC Securities states that a decline in funding, low liquidity, high inflation and high customer acquisition costs are some critical challenges that could flatten the D2C wave. But pro-ecommerce policies such as the ecommerce draft rules and guidelines and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) are seen as tailwinds, and overall ecommerce penetration is expected to reach nearly 25% in the next five years.

How can brands stay the course and remain relevant and successful to make the most of this opportunity when it arises? The D2C Summit 3.0 is all about bringing tried and tested proven strategies that have worked for the likes of boAt, Country Delight, Melorra, Bombay Shaving Company, Veeba, Da Milano and others over the years.

• Get deep insights into running a sustainable startup from investors that have seen past recessionary cycles.
• Learn about actionable tactics from top ecommerce experts to accelerate growth even in a slowdown.
• Hear from an array of ecommerce enablers — logistics tech, retail tech and more — that are pushing D2C forward

This year’s D2C Summit is envisioned as a knowledge bank for brands to boost acquisition, leverage current trends, solve customer retention puzzles and make the most of the ecommerce opportunity ahead.

The D2C Summit 3.0 Agenda

The summit will feature a mix of keynotes and speeches, panel discussions, fireside chats, masterclasses led by founders and live Q&A to empower anyone and everyone that is in the D2C and ecommerce sphere. Here’s a glimpse of what you can expect

Fireside Chats With ONDC, India’s Fastest Growing D2C Brands

The biggest buzz this year in the ecommerce industry has been around ONDC. We are bringing T Koshy, MD & CEO of ONDC and Shireesh Joshi, CBO & President of ONDC to get the clearest picture of the project and what it will mean for D2C and ecommerce. Moderated by Capier Investments’ Ankur Pahwa, this session will touch on the problems that ONDC is looking to solve and the various stakeholders it ties together.

Consumer electronics giant boAt’s founder Aman Gupta will dive into what worked for the company as it competed with tech giants and its secret to cutting through the market clutter at a time when there is an explosion of homegrown brands. Plus, get a peek into boAt’s marketing playbook and how it has managed to retain talent over the years.

When it comes to D2C, it’s not just new-age brands that are in the picture. Legacy companies such as Da Milano have banked on ecommerce to boost their existing business and hit that omnichannel sweet spot. Da Milano Italia’s director Shivani Malik, and managing director Sahil Malik take us through the pains of building a premium D2C brand in India and how it cracked this code. Plus, how its India experience is informing its international foray — something many new brands need to be paying close attention to.

Rage Coffee founder Bharat Sethi’s fireside chat with actor and investor Rannvijay Singha promises to spill the beans on one of the fastest growing coffee brands in India and how it leveraged celebrity investments.

Despite a very evident slowdown in funding inflow into Indian startups in 2022, investors continue to talk bullishly about D2C, but also throw in a word of caution every now and then. So we are delving deeper into how startups can actually implement strategies to build resilient brands with Lightbox partner Sandeep Murthy.

From effective strategies to optimise spends, to the best practices to manage runway and smartly investing in revenue growth rather than chasing user metrics, this fireside chat is likely to solve many woes for D2C startups.

And in the D2C space, one cannot overlook the rise of the house of brands and ecommerce roll-ups. One of the newest platforms in this space is TMRW, which is taking an incubation-plus-acquisitions approach. Cofounder & CEO Prashanth Aluru will take us through how TMRW is navigating India’s changing landscape for houses of brands, how it views synergies between brands, and competing with the likes of GlobalBees, Mensa Brands and others that have emerged in the past two years.

Panel Discussions: Scaling Up, Going Global And Cracking Omnichannel

As usual, we will be bringing together founders and investors for panel discussions on everything that is making waves in the D2C space, especially with the festive season around the corner.

WOW Skin Science’s Manish Chowdhary, Fablestreet’s Ayushi Gudwani and Bombay Shaving Company’s Shantanu Deshpande will delve into the strategies that have worked for them during the festive season rush at the end of the year — from preparing for scale and volume, to logistics & customer experience challenges, and alternative strategies to limit cashburn.

Customer experience or CX is becoming a key battleground for D2C indeed. Hear from Pickrr cofounder Rhitiman Majumder, Clovia founder Pankaj Vermani and TAC cofounder Shreedha Singh on why brands need to move from reactive to proactive customer engagement and how CX impacts retention and reduces costs related to customer acquisition.

Speaking of mitigating costs, logistics expenses are a big burden on D2C margins. But technology and automation gives brands the opportunity to save costs. Delhivery SVP Rohan Shanbhag will take the audience through strategies that have worked for brands in reducing logistics cost & optimising distribution, as well as why D2C brands need to relook at their supply chain costs given the current market conditions.

In the post-pandemic market, omnichannel is the name of the game to reach as many customers as possible. Plus, retail channels are also getting linked to online sales through quick commerce and other apps. Our panel — featuring Veeba’s Viraj Bahl, Malika Datt Sadani, founder & CEO of The Moms Co.; Noise cofounder Gaurav Khatri, Verlinvest’s Arjun Vaidya and moderated by Antler India’s Rajiv Srivatsa — will break down how brands are going about it.

Among the other highlights is the panel discussion featuring creators and entrepreneurs such as Madan Gowri, Parul Gulati, Masoom Minawala and Raj Shamani, founder, House Of X. One of the most hotly anticipated sessions of D2C Summit 3.0, this panel will give us a look at how the rapidly-evolving creator economy is drumming up D2C mania.

Masterclasses: Lessons From Top Experts, Founders

And last but not least, we have lined up masterclasses from top industry experts. Learn from the likes of ecommerce expert Gopal Kolli on the best strategies for advertising and promotions on Amazon and other marketplaces.

Pickrr CTO Sandeep Dinodiya will dive into how automation and tech plays a role in navigating the festive season logistics rush, while Melorra founder and CEO Saroja Yeramilli will give us insights into Melorra’s method behind retail expansion in post-pandemic market and its omnichannel strategies.

There’s a lot more in store at the D2C Summit 3.0. Come join us and make the most of this unprecedented opportunity in the ecommerce space. See you next week!

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Join 5,000 attendees, 75+ speakers and D2C brands across three stages and 30 scintillating sessions at India’s largest D2C and ecommerce conference! Register now!