D2C for CPG Brands 2023

How to Drive Profitable Ecommerce Revenues Through Direct Selling Strategies

Report by Andrew Lipsman  | Jun 5, 2023
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Ecommerce’s share of grocery and CPG sales varies widely by product category.
Increased digital ad spending by CPGs will help drive their D2C ecommerce sales.
Subscription fatigue won’t limit CPG brands’ potential for subscription commerce.
CPG brands must evaluate whether D2C is a viable channel for them.
High customer lifetime value is the key to D2C viability.
CPGs should determine if subscription ecommerce in their categories will drive LTV.
CPGs and beauty brands are leading the latest wave of digital natives’ growth.
TikTok is the future of CPG brand discovery in D2C.
CPG brands are abandoning Facebook ads while ramping up their TikTok spend.
CPGs can use D2C strategies to drive profitable brand growth under the right conditions.
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands have attempted to break into D2C ecommerce in recent years, to varying degrees of success. How can they avoid unprofitable strategies and develop a viable D2C ecommerce channel?
Topics
Brand Marketing
US
Table of Contents
Ecommerce’s share of grocery and CPG sales varies widely by product category.
Increased digital ad spending by CPGs will help drive their D2C ecommerce sales.
Subscription fatigue won’t limit CPG brands’ potential for subscription commerce.
CPG brands must evaluate whether D2C is a viable channel for them.
High customer lifetime value is the key to D2C viability.
CPGs should determine if subscription ecommerce in their categories will drive LTV.
CPGs and beauty brands are leading the latest wave of digital natives’ growth.
TikTok is the future of CPG brand discovery in D2C.
CPG brands are abandoning Facebook ads while ramping up their TikTok spend.
CPGs can use D2C strategies to drive profitable brand growth under the right conditions.
Sources
Media Gallery

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) and beauty brands that pivoted to D2C strategies during the pandemic are struggling to convince shoppers to unbundle individual purchases from their regular grocery and drugstore trips. But certain brands—including several disruptors leading the next wave of D2C growth—have shown that profitable D2C ecommerce sales can be achieved.

Key Question: What are the best strategies for CPG and beauty brands to grow their D2C ecommerce sales?

US Beauty Direct-to-Consumer Ecommerce Sales, by Retailer Type, 2020-2022* (billions and % change vs. prior year)
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KEY STAT: Pure-play D2C beauty brands have dramatically increased their ecommerce sales from $2.3 billion in 2020 to $3.5 billion in 2022, per NielsenIQ.

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Table of Contents

  1. Ecommerce’s share of grocery and CPG sales varies widely by product category.
  2. Increased digital ad spending by CPGs will help drive their D2C ecommerce sales.
  3. Subscription fatigue won’t limit CPG brands’ potential for subscription commerce.
  4. CPG brands must evaluate whether D2C is a viable channel for them.
  1. High customer lifetime value is the key to D2C viability.
  2. CPGs should determine if subscription ecommerce in their categories will drive LTV.
  3. CPGs and beauty brands are leading the latest wave of digital natives’ growth.
  4. TikTok is the future of CPG brand discovery in D2C.
  1. CPG brands are abandoning Facebook ads while ramping up their TikTok spend.
  2. CPGs can use D2C strategies to drive profitable brand growth under the right conditions.
  3. Sources
  4. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

US Beauty Direct-to-Consumer Ecommerce Sales, by Retailer Type, 2020-2022* (billions and % change vs. prior year)US Retail Ecommerce Sales Penetration of Grocery Products, by Category, 2016-2025 (% of total retail sales in each group)
US D2C Ecommerce Sales, 2019-2025 (billions, % change, and % of total retail ecommerce sales)US Subscription Ecommerce Sales, 2022-2027 (billions, % change, and % of retail ecommerce sales)
Average Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) of Subscription Ecommerce Consumers Worldwide, by Product Category, 2021 & 2022US Amazon Subscribe & Save Household Penetration, by Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Category, 2020-2022* (% of total category purchases)
Top-Gaining D2C Ecommerce Websites Worldwide, 2022 (millions and % change)Social Platforms on Which US Gen Z vs. Total Shoppers Most Often Discover Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Products, Feb 2023 (% of respondents)
US Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Beauty Brands' Share of Ad Spending, Q1 2020-Q4 2022 (% of total)

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Download
Report
Deck
One-Pager
Share
Table of Contents
Ecommerce’s share of grocery and CPG sales varies widely by product category.
Increased digital ad spending by CPGs will help drive their D2C ecommerce sales.
Subscription fatigue won’t limit CPG brands’ potential for subscription commerce.
CPG brands must evaluate whether D2C is a viable channel for them.
High customer lifetime value is the key to D2C viability.
CPGs should determine if subscription ecommerce in their categories will drive LTV.
CPGs and beauty brands are leading the latest wave of digital natives’ growth.
TikTok is the future of CPG brand discovery in D2C.
CPG brands are abandoning Facebook ads while ramping up their TikTok spend.
CPGs can use D2C strategies to drive profitable brand growth under the right conditions.
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands have attempted to break into D2C ecommerce in recent years, to varying degrees of success. How can they avoid unprofitable strategies and develop a viable D2C ecommerce channel?
Topics
Brand Marketing
US
Table of Contents
Ecommerce’s share of grocery and CPG sales varies widely by product category.
Increased digital ad spending by CPGs will help drive their D2C ecommerce sales.
Subscription fatigue won’t limit CPG brands’ potential for subscription commerce.
CPG brands must evaluate whether D2C is a viable channel for them.
High customer lifetime value is the key to D2C viability.
CPGs should determine if subscription ecommerce in their categories will drive LTV.
CPGs and beauty brands are leading the latest wave of digital natives’ growth.
TikTok is the future of CPG brand discovery in D2C.
CPG brands are abandoning Facebook ads while ramping up their TikTok spend.
CPGs can use D2C strategies to drive profitable brand growth under the right conditions.
Sources
Media Gallery
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authors

Andrew Lipsman

Contributors

Whitney Birdsall
Senior Forecasting Analyst
Suzy Davidkhanian
Principal Analyst, Retail & Ecommerce
Blake Droesch
Analyst
Amy Rotondo
Director, US Research