India's D2C Rush
As more and more consumer brands go digital to reach customers faster and carve a unique identity, India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) moment is well and truly here. With thousands of brands competing in the D2C space, will this be the future of India’s retail market?
“Digital sales have their squirrel’s share that goes up to 5%, as compared to the offline distribution sales channel,” – Nevil Patel, director, Ajanta-ORPAT Group.
It’s early days for many of India’s traditional brands in the D2C space, but slowly and certainly, brands such as Ajanta-Orpat, Cornitos, LG, Kiehl’s, Havells and dozens of others are looking to own the customer journey from product development to last-mile delivery.
From retail presence and traditional distribution, direct-to-consumer (D2C) is fast becoming the new buzzword for brands in India’s storied consumer products and goods market. Over the past few years, even traditional businesses have had to rethink their approach to selling. And if many brands were on the fence in the past, the pandemic has well and truly pushed them on to the D2C corner.
The success stories of centuries-old brands has acted as a catalyst for many of India’s consumer goods manufacturers. And while not all of them might have embraced D2C completely, there’s a greater degree of certainty about their D2C destiny, thanks to the market conditions.