Shopping 2.0: direct-to-consumer

Mindful of the array of small, mailbox sized packages arriving relentlessly into our home lately, we took a look at the rise of companies selling their personal care and beauty products direct to consumers (DTC) as opposed to through traditional retailers, whether online or bricks and mortar. 

Personal Care companies –- established and start-up –– are drawn to this channel because it allows them to build direct relationships, upsell packages, get immediate feedback on new products and create a subscription stream. 

We tapped into our own research solutions* to find out more about how consumers are responding. The DTC route is well established. 83% of people have purchased products and services online directly from a company - that is, not through an online retailer. This is true across all age groups, led by 90% of millennials.  Men tend to buy online directly more than women, although men’s preferred brands were not Dollar Shave and Harry’s, as you might expect, but Dove and Colgate.

Turning to personal grooming and beauty specifically, most groups buy either at a drug store, mass retailer or Amazon. GenX were most likely to show at a mass retailer like Target. 41% of them shopped there. Almost 10% of women typically shop at a boutique retailer like Sephora - Millennials are the heaviest users of such stores.

*Detailed survey results are redacted.