How an Omnichannel Strategy Can Transform & Grow D2C Brands?
It is the era of D2C brands. The D2C market was valued at 33.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. By 2025, the total addressable D2C market is forecast to grow almost threefold and reach 100 billion U.S. dollars, with fashion and accessories leading as one of the largest D2C segments in India.
Customer habits changed speedily as people learnt to live with the pandemic. They cleverly used the work from home time to research competition products, services and vivid shopping experiences offered by numerous brands.
The time couldn’t have been better for companies to connect directly with the huge volume of customers searching for unique products & shopping experiences as a solution to ease their lifestyle.
In simple words, brands offering D2C services are on the rise. Don’t you believe us? Here’s the proof. The giant search engine platform Google is reporting a huge volume of D2C customer queries around different brands, products and services.
- Spykar jeans for men (Avg. monthly searches for this keyword is 5000)
- Boat earphones under 500 (Avg. monthly searches for this is 5000)
- Campus shoes under 5000 (Avg. monthly searches for this 500)
These numbers are just trailers of specific user queries for some popular D2C brands. In fact, the overall D2C brand search volume is increasing rapidly due to Year-on-year (YoY) increase in smartphone and 4G/5G internet penetration.
How an End-to-End Omnichannel Presence can Transform and Grow D2C Brands?
1) Ensure presence on channels where customers are present
Are you aware that 85% of consumers conduct online research before making an online purchase? Consumers are known to use every online channel to extract precise information about a brand, product or service before taking a purchase decision.
Referral & brand websites: Customers can find hundreds of thousands of referral and brand websites discussing product launch, feedback, reviews, shopping experiences, and attractive deals in blog, podcast, and video formats.
Social media channels: Customers follow the brand pages of numerous social media channels to address their issues, learn about company/product feedback and engage with different brands.
The point is that customers have access to every reachable online channel and have a variable source of verified researched information on the internet. D2C brands can’t afford to neglect the impactful presence of these customers, as these are the online channels where customers are active, engaging, socializing, and learning about the world.
An impactful online presence can help D2C brands listen to customer demands, launch customized products, tweak their marketing strategy, and deliver personalized offers to every customer.
That’s why a D2C brand needs to have its imprint everywhere apps, email, social media, brand websites, referral websites, marketplaces and a good omnichannel strategy is the one that can help ensure the D2C brand’s seamless presence on online channels to create brand awareness, engagement, quality lead generation, and find new customers every day.
2) Offer personalized experiences
80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase when brands consistently offer personalized experiences.These experiences extend across multiple digital touchpoints; right from the first time a customer lands on the website or launches the mobile app - and across multiple channels such as email, app, push notifications, etc.
Onsite personalization
A) Personalize the navigational flow across website
A D2C brand selling manufactured sports apparel and equipment can personalize the home page viewing and navigation flow across their e-commerce platform depending on whether the visitor is a new, first time customer or a repeat customer.
For instance, Nike does it based on a male customer’s live browsing behavior and past purchase history. Nike recommends running shorts and t-shirts on their website to aid in easy navigation, quicker product discovery, and sales conversion.
B) Personalize the product search experience
Any search made by a new or existing customer on the website is a solid sign of the customer’s intent to fulfill his shopping needs. D2C brand websites can now quickly populate product recommendations based on partial or complete search phrases entered in the search tab with the help of a powerful AI engine.
Look at how Sephora does it for its customers. If an existing customer is searching for a blue lipstick on Sephora’s website, then the product search shows 4 lipsticks in the search results, out of which 3 are in shades of blue (customer’s interest based on past purchase and browsing history) and 1 lipstick with high ratings that is red in color (As a recommendation)
C) Reorder product categories for greater 1:1 context
There are hundreds of products in any D2C ecommerce brand's product catalog.In order to provide the most appropriate product recommendations, brands can use AI to dynamically reorder these categories for each unique customer, as personalizing product catalogs can boost CTRs and conversion rates by as much as 60% to 80%.
Also, it can help with fast product discovery and exposure at the top of the page, which are critical for good conversions.
Customer journey personalization:
Though onsite personalization is critical for creating experiential customer experiences, D2C brands must go beyond that to deliver relevant product recommendations across additional digital touchpoints.
Let’s consider the example of a D2C brand manufacturer that retails home furniture. There are customers looking to purchase more ergonomic work chairs as more and more professionals work from home during this COVID-19 crisis. Here’s what will happen:
Buying journey using a single device: Some customers will land on the website, search, discover, and complete a purchase within a single active session on their laptop or smartphone.
Buying journey across multiple devices: Some customers will search the product category on their smartphone, add the product to their shopping cart on their tablet, and complete the actual purchase on their laptop.
Incentivize & attract customers to complete purchases: Some customers will discover and evaluate a few products in the same category, but drop-off instantly. They have to be incentivized to come back to the D2C website and complete the purchase.
This highlights the critical nature of developing and executing intelligent customer journeys that trigger and deliver laser-focused product suggestions via high-impact marketing channels such as email, app push notifications, and web push notifications.
3) Use Contextual Recommendations
These are the types of contextual recommendations that D2C brands must provide for excellent conversions even when clients are inactive on the website, mobile site, or mobile app, with AI handling the hard lifting.
Abandoned cart recommendations: This recommendation is generated on the basis of abandoned carts on the D2C website. A buyer shopping for a children's cupboard adds the item to his or her cart but does not complete the transaction. In this example, the D2C brand can initiate cupboard recommendations based on products of similar price range, color, and dimensions. Additionally, it can recommend which bed, side tables, or other furniture would go best with this in order to complete and match the room's look.
Best seller recommendations: This is generated based on the highest selling products on the D2C website. For example, as work-from-home grew in popularity, a large number of customers purchased ergonomic work chairs, cushions, and laptop stands from the D2C platform. So, ergonomic work chairs have surpassed all other categories as the best-selling product during the last six months.
New arrival recommendations: This is generated based on new products that have been recently added to the product catalog of the D2C brand. For instance, Cole Haan shows personalized Facebook ads based on a customer’s search history and entices the customer with discounts on the same product to encourage a purchase.
Recently viewed recommendations: These are developed based on the most recently viewed products by the customers on the D2C platform.
Some D2C Brands that have Aced in Business using Omnichannel Strategy
Tiffany & Co
Tiffany & Co. has launched its ecommerce site in India powered by Fynd, India's largest omnichannel platform. Customers in India can easily shop for Tiffany's classic products via this ecommerce portal.
The website features a number of services, including diamond consultations with in-house experts, private meetings in-store, and personal shopper assistance in selecting the perfect Tiffany jewelry.
Customers can create wish lists for their favorite products and take advantage of complimentary shipping to all cities, all of which contribute to a genuinely memorable shopping experience.
XYXX
XYXX’s omnichannel approach has been pivotal to their success across tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 markets, resulting in 100% year-on-year growth since the previous financial year. The brand offers a robust customer service team to support customer queries and also work towards customer delight.
For instance, XYXX customers get the experience of a personal shopper when they speak to the customer care team if they have any challenges during the shopping journey. This experience is like shopping in a XYXX retail store and engaging with the in-store representative who solves their problems.
The product unboxing experience has also become a talking point amongst customers, which receives great feedback comparing it to global players.
Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club is a lifestyle brand offering grooming content and products designed to help men be their best selves. The DSC “We got you” campaign marks its status as an omnichannel brand.
DSC features a video ad campaign suggesting the new omnichannel availability of the brand and another shorter one about a new two pack blade sampling option that lets customers try both a 4-blade and 6-blade razor.
Conclusion
An omnichannel strategy is a terrific way to grow a D2C brand. It can help you reach more customers and provide a better customer experience. Our article explains how an omnichannel strategy can transform your D2C brand and reach more customers.
Are you ready to launch a sales ready D2C brand with Fynd? Our omnichannel solutions have fuelled the growth of numerous D2C brands in the industry, like Catwalk, Mumbai Indians, Bally, Mothercare, Body Cafe, Superdry, & Diesel. Wait no more! Book a Demo with our experts or Contact us immediately to future proof your D2C business.
