Hey there, great people of the D2C community who are building fantastic things! This is your host Berkay writing.
Take a 5-minute break and dive into D2C Digest for a quick overview of what’s happening in the D2C market worldwide!
🤔 Walmart and Amazon Aim to Help Shoppers Beat Spending Stress
Walmart and Amazon are stepping up their game to help with holiday spending anxiety. 🎁
With the cost of living still weighing heavy on shoppers’ minds, both retailers are offering deals earlier than ever to give people a head start on saving.
Walmart just announced their Thanksgiving meal deal—feeding eight people for less than $7 a person. 🍽️ From October 14 through December 25, they’re bringing back their inflation-free holiday meal to ease the pressure on rising food prices.
Meanwhile, Amazon is preparing for the holiday season with their Holiday Beauty Haul starting October 21. 💄 For two weeks, shoppers can grab huge discounts on top beauty brands like Clinique, Maybelline, and Lancôme, helping them get ahead on gift shopping.
Why so early tho?
Shoppers are planning their purchases way in advance to stretch their budgets. Last year, over half of consumers had their holiday shopping mapped out early. With so many living paycheck to paycheck, these early deals are a huge help.
Walmart and Amazon are battling to be the first choice for those early planners. Walmart kicked off its earliest-ever Holiday Deals event, and Amazon’s recent Prime Big Deal Days set records with massive sales worldwide. 🛒
The bottom line? Shoppers need early savings more than ever, and these retailers know that timing is key.
🔍 DTC Equation Has Changed
When entering the DTC space, most think it’s simple—build a website, sell products, grow your social media, and run some ads.
That used to work in the early days when competition was low. But today, the equation has changed.
The Pilothouse team sees three key traits in brands that successfully launch and scale their DTC business in the first year. 📈
1️⃣ A Product that Solves a Problem
It doesn’t need to be groundbreaking, but it should add convenience or solve a problem that other products in the niche don’t. Take Cane Brew Sweet Tea for example. They launched with pre-sweetened iced tea bags, cutting out the extra step of adding sweetener for consumers. Simple, but effective.
2️⃣ A DTC-Friendly Website
Your website doesn’t have to be fancy—it just needs to be fast, easy to navigate, and optimized for conversions. Cane Brew, for example, optimized their site, which led to a 6.05% increase in conversion rates. If your site is leaky, you’ll waste money sending ads to it. 💸
3️⃣ Launch Ads and Be Patient
Meta Ads are the most affordable way to acquire new customers, but it takes time to warm up the pixel. For Cane Brew, it took a few months, but by Q2, they saw a +824% sales increase and an average ROAS of 2.16 in the first six months.
The takeaway?
You don’t need a massive social following to succeed. Focus on a problem-solving product, and an optimized website, and give your ad campaigns time to work.
🐾 Your Dog Can Finally Rock Crocs Too!
Crocs is stepping into new territory—pet shoes! 🐾👟
While October is usually all about Halloween and BFCM prep, Crocs is owning the month with their branded celebration, Croctober.
Originally a one-day event, Croctober has become a month-long party where Crocs fans show off their creativity, share fan art, and snag exclusive drops. Last year’s viral hit? The Crocs Classic Cowboy Boot is complete with a metal Jibbitz charm. 🤠
But this year, they’re going even bigger.
Crocs has teamed up with BARK to launch Pet Crocs, fulfilling one of their most requested fan products. Now, pet parents can match their furry friends with matching Classic Lined Clogs in Green Slime and Pink Dragonfruit. 🐕👞
Why does this make sense?
With U.S. pet spending projected to hit $150.6 billion in 2024, Crocs is jumping into a booming market. Matching shoes for pets and owners aren’t just adorable—they also boost average order value (AOV). 💸
The takeaway?
Crocs knows how to keep fans hooked with fun, viral moments and surprise gifts, all while deepening brand loyalty. Croctober is a brilliant way to drive engagement and awareness year after year.
Pet Crocs drops on October 23rd—better grab a pair before they’re gone! 🐾
D2C DIGEST
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