How D2C brands can optimize the consumer journey from discovery to retention, highlighting the importance of personalized experiences, exceptional customer service, and community building. It suggests strategies for D2C brands to stand out, including identifying niches, building strong brands, focusing on customer experience, using data analytics, and implementing loyalty programs.
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Introduction
Summer is here and you’re in search of a new fan or refrigerator, which can make your life easier. So, you decide to go on Google and type the name of the brand which you think would suit the best as a new refrigerator in the house. Multiple links line up and you choose the one which takes you to a leading e-commerce platform showing you multiple products of the same as well as of the competitor brands.
You research some more for a couple of hours, including days and finally decide to buy the one which falls in your budget and also suits every need of your house. The product gets delivered and you’re satisfied with all the things including the customer service and the warranty period, leading you to give a 5-star review of the product on the platform you bought it from.
Defining a Consumer Journey
What you read above is defined as a consumer journey. A consumer journey on an e-commerce platform refers to the process that a customer goes through when purchasing a product or service online. It typically involves several stages, including awareness, consideration, decision, and retention.
Awareness: At this stage, the consumer becomes aware of the product or service being offered by the e-commerce platform. This could happen through various channels such as social media, search engines, email marketing, and advertisements. So, in the example above, you searching for a fan or refrigerator on a search engine or even coming across an advertisement on social media is the first stage of the consumer journey
Consideration: The consumer begins to research and compare different products or services on the e-commerce platform. They may read reviews, compare prices, and evaluate the features of each product to determine which one best meets their needs. Considering various products of the same brand or competitor brands brings you to the second stage of the consumer journey.
Decision: After evaluating their options, the consumer decides to purchase a product or service on the e-commerce platform. They may add the item to their cart, enter their payment information, and confirm the order. The products that suit your needs the best is the one which makes their way into your cart but this is still the stage where you’re contemplating your decision before finally clicking on the buy now button.
Retention: After completing the purchase, the consumer enters the retention stage where the e-commerce platform strives to keep them engaged and loyal. This may involve sending follow-up emails, offering personalized recommendations, and providing customer service to ensure a positive experience. The final stage where you were happy with the delivery and services and the entire cycle made you give 5 stars to the product and finally brings you to the end of the customer journey.
Throughout each stage of the consumer journey, e-commerce platforms aim to provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for their customers, to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, revenue
This is what a typical digital shopper’s journey looks like. Irrespective of the product or the service that a shopper wants to purchase every brand or organisation looks forward to optimising every step of the journey to increase their retention rate, customer lifetime value and repeat purchase
So, how does a normal shopper’s journey differentiate from that of a D2C consumer’s one?
Shopper’s Journey for a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Brand
The consumer journey for Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) products or businesses can differ from the traditional e-commerce consumer journey in several ways:
Discovery: D2C brands often rely heavily on social media, influencer marketing, and referral programs to create brand awareness and drive traffic to their website. Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms, which may rely on paid advertising or search engines, D2C brands often prioritize building a loyal community of brand advocates who can help spread the word. Be it a nascent stage or at a developed stage, any D2C brand needs to connect to its customer at a deeper level to make its way into the consumer’s daily life and budget and provide the why them and not an established brand.
Personalization: D2C brands often focus on creating a personalized experience for their customers. They may use data analytics to understand consumer behaviour and tailor product recommendations, content, and promotions accordingly. This can lead to a more personalized and engaging shopping experience, which can help drive customer loyalty, including personalized product recommendations, offering exclusive discounts and promotions based on customer behaviour, and sending personalized follow-up emails after a purchase.
Customer Service: D2C brands often prioritize exceptional customer service to differentiate themselves from traditional e-commerce platforms. This may involve offering free returns, easy exchanges, and responsive customer support through multiple channels. This can help build trust and loyalty with customers, who may be more likely to purchase from a brand that prioritizes their needs. A lot of times you’ll see multiple D2C businesses engaging in discounted offers like 3 products for Rs.999 or bundling different products to increase in cross and upselling
Subscription Models: D2C brands may offer subscription-based models to provide a more convenient and predictable shopping experience for their customers. This can lead to higher customer retention rates and recurring revenue for the business.
Overall, the D2C consumer journey focuses on building a loyal customer base through personalized experiences, exceptional customer service, and community building.
How to differentiate yourself from your competitors?
As a D2C business owner, one of the questions that always pops up is how we differentiate ourselves from the crowd. How do we justify what we bring to the table and make the best out of that to create a profitable and sustainable business in the long run? Let’s look at some of the factors by which D2C brands can differentiate themselves from traditional e-commerce platforms and create a unique brand identity that resonates with their target audience
Identify a Niche: Research and identify a specific market segment or niche that is not being adequately served by existing e-commerce businesses. This could involve identifying unmet needs, underserved demographics, or gaps in the market that your business can fill.
Build a Strong Brand: Develop a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience. This could involve creating a compelling brand story, designing a visually appealing website, and using social media to build a community around your brand.
Focus on Customer Experience: Prioritize customer experience and create a seamless shopping experience for your customers. This could involve offering personalized recommendations, fast shipping, easy returns, and exceptional customer service.
Use Data Analytics: Use data analytics to gain insights into consumer behaviour and optimize your marketing and sales strategies accordingly. This could involve analysing customer data, website traffic, and social media engagement to make informed decisions about your business
Loyalty Programs: Offer a loyalty program to incentivize repeat purchases. This could involve offering rewards points or exclusive discounts for customers who make multiple purchases on your e-commerce platform.
Product Quality: Ensure that your products are of high quality and meet or exceed customer expectations. This can help build trust and loyalty with your customers, who may be more likely to make repeat purchases if they are satisfied with the quality of your products.
Subscription model is something which is still bleak and developing in India. With the growing economy, constant changes are happening in consumer behaviour but what matters most is leaving a lasting impression in the minds of your consumer. Building repeat purchase for a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brand on an e-commerce platform without a subscription model requires creating a strong relationship with your customers and providing an exceptional customer experience that will compel your consumer to come back and only purchase your product.
By following these strategies, D2C brands can create a positive shopping experience for their customers and build long-term loyalty. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and building a strong relationship with your customers, you can increase the likelihood of repeat purchases and drive revenue growth for your e-commerce business.
So, focus on how can you be a daily part of your consumer’s life cycle so much so that they always make space in their monthly budget for your brand and include it in their table of shares. This consumer journey can help you become an unforgettable part of your consumer and also get a referral which is one of the best ways of marketing any product.
For Curious Minds
The four-stage consumer journey provides a clear map of a customer's path from discovery to loyalty. It is a foundational framework because it allows you to identify and improve key interactions that directly influence a shopper's decision to buy from you and, more importantly, to return. By optimizing each phase, you build a more effective and profitable sales funnel.
The model consists of four distinct stages:
Awareness: This is the initial contact where a potential customer discovers your product, perhaps through a Google search or a social media ad.
Consideration: The customer evaluates your offering against competitors, reading reviews and comparing features on your platform.
Decision: The moment of truth where the customer adds the product to their cart and completes the purchase.
Retention: The post-purchase phase where your engagement through customer service and personalized follow-ups encourages repeat business and positive reviews.
Mastering this journey is not just about making a single sale; it is about systematically increasing your retention rate and building a sustainable business. Explore the full article to see how each stage connects to specific growth metrics.
The retention stage encompasses all interactions with a customer after they complete a purchase. This phase is defined not by the transaction, but by the relationship you build afterward, which is crucial for turning a one-time buyer into a loyal advocate for your brand and improving your customer lifetime value. A well-executed retention strategy is often more cost-effective than acquiring new customers.
Key activities in this stage include:
Providing excellent customer service and support for the delivered product.
Sending personalized follow-up communications, such as usage tips or related product recommendations.
Requesting reviews and feedback to show you value their opinion.
Offering loyalty programs or exclusive deals to encourage repeat purchases.
Effectively nurturing customers post-purchase ensures they feel valued, leading to higher satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth. To learn how specific retention tactics can transform your business model, continue reading the complete analysis.
A D2C brand's discovery phase is centered on building a direct connection with a niche audience, while a brand on a large marketplace often competes for visibility within a pre-existing ecosystem. D2C brands must create their own traffic through community and content, whereas marketplace sellers often rely on paid placement and platform algorithms to be found. This fundamental difference shapes their entire marketing approach.
For example, a D2C brand might prioritize authentic storytelling and community building through influencer marketing and targeted social media campaigns. In contrast, a brand on a large platform would focus on optimizing product listings for the platform's search engine and investing in sponsored product ads. The D2C approach aims for brand loyalty from the first touchpoint, while the marketplace approach often prioritizes immediate transaction volume over brand affinity. Discover how these divergent paths impact long-term customer relationships in our detailed breakdown.
The key distinction lies in the environment and the nature of the choice presented to the consumer. On a D2C site, the 'consideration' and 'decision' stages are a curated brand experience, while on a large e-commerce platform, these stages are a competitive arena where your product is placed directly beside alternatives. This makes price and reviews highly influential factors.
Here is how they differ:
Consideration: A D2C shopper considers options within the brand’s ecosystem, educated by brand-owned content. A marketplace shopper compares your product against numerous competitors on the same page.
Decision: A D2C brand can guide the decision with a unique value proposition and a controlled checkout experience. On a marketplace, the decision can be easily swayed by a competitor’s lower price at the last second.
Understanding this helps you tailor your messaging to either reinforce brand value or compete on specific features. Read on to see how to optimize for both scenarios.
Successful D2C brands transform the 'awareness' stage from a simple ad impression into an invitation to join a community. They achieve this by partnering with influencers who genuinely align with their brand values and by creating engaging social media content that fosters conversation, rather than just broadcasting product features. This approach builds trust and organic reach from the very beginning.
For instance, a D2C beauty brand might collaborate with micro-influencers for authentic, unboxing-style video reviews that resonate with a specific audience. A sustainable apparel brand could use its Instagram profile to showcase its production process and customer stories, creating a sense of shared identity. These brands prioritize engagement over hard selling, which helps them build a loyal following that traditional advertising on platforms like Google cannot replicate. Explore our full analysis for more case studies on community-led growth.
When a consumer searches on Google and lands on an e-commerce platform, they are immediately in a comparison mindset. To win in this 'consideration' stage, your brand must stand out with clear, compelling, and trustworthy information that simplifies the shopper's research process and directly addresses their needs, ultimately affecting your repeat purchase metrics.
Effective strategies include:
Rich Product Details: Use high-quality images, videos, and detailed specifications to answer questions before they are asked.
Social Proof: Prominently display customer ratings and detailed reviews, as these are often the most influential factors.
Comparison Tools: If the platform allows, create content or feature charts that explicitly compare your product's features against key competitors.
The goal is to become the most helpful resource on the page, building confidence that your product is the best choice. To see how data-driven content can sway decisions, read the rest of the article.
For a new D2C brand, mapping the customer journey is about focusing on high-impact touchpoints that guide customers smoothly from discovery to their first purchase. Instead of trying to optimize everything at once, concentrate on creating a simple, cohesive experience that builds trust and encourages engagement from the start, which will help increase your retention rate over time.
Here is a practical three-step plan:
Define Your Target Audience's Path: Research where your ideal customers spend time online. Map their likely path from that discovery point to your website.
Optimize Key Touchpoints: Focus on perfecting the social media post that grabs their attention, the landing page that explains your value, and the streamlined checkout process.
Plan the Post-Purchase Follow-up: Design a simple email sequence that thanks the customer, confirms their order, and asks for feedback a week later.
This focused approach ensures your limited resources are spent on the moments that matter most. Continue reading for advanced techniques on scaling this initial map.
For a large e-commerce platform, retention is about personalization at scale. The goal is to make each customer feel recognized and valued within a vast catalog of products, encouraging them to make your platform their first choice for future needs. A strong retention strategy is key to improving your customer lifetime value.
Here are actionable strategies to implement:
Segmented Email Marketing: Move beyond generic newsletters. Send personalized product recommendations based on a customer’s past purchases.
Tiered Loyalty Programs: Create a rewards system where customers unlock greater benefits as they spend more.
Proactive Customer Service: Use post-purchase surveys to identify any issues and follow up with solutions.
Subscription Offers: For consumable products, promote a "subscribe and save" model to lock in future revenue.
Implementing these tactics systematically can transform your customer base into a predictable source of recurring income. Discover more data-backed retention methods in the full post.
The traditional linear consumer journey is becoming a more fluid and interconnected cycle for D2C brands. Instead of a straight path from awareness to purchase, the future journey is a web of interactions where stages like 'consideration' and 'decision' can happen almost instantly within a social media app. Brands must adapt by creating seamless buying experiences directly on these platforms.
The evolution will likely include:
Integrated Shopping: Customers will discover and buy products within platforms like Instagram or TikTok without visiting a brand's website.
Community as a Funnel: Private groups and creator-led communities will become the primary source for product discovery and social proof.
Continuous Engagement: The journey will no longer end at retention but will feed back into awareness as happy customers become advocates.
To prepare, D2C brands should invest in social commerce tools and focus on building genuine communities. Learn how to build for this future in our complete analysis.
Large e-commerce marketplaces face the challenge of replicating intimacy and community at a massive scale. The long-term implication is that platforms that remain purely transactional may lose customers to D2C brands that offer a stronger sense of belonging. Their survival depends on evolving retention strategies beyond simple discounts.
To adapt, marketplaces could:
Create Brand-Specific Hubs: Allow brands to build customized storefronts and communication channels within the platform to foster a community.
Leverage Data for Deeper Personalization: Use AI to offer relevant content and recommendations that mimic the curated feel of a D2C site.
Facilitate User-Generated Content: Encourage more authentic customer reviews, Q&As, and photo submissions to build trust.
The future for these platforms involves becoming a host for communities, not just a catalog of products. Read on to explore how marketplaces are already starting to implement these changes.
A primary mistake leading to cart abandonment is introducing unexpected friction or surprises during the checkout process. After a customer has decided to buy, any new barrier, such as a surprise shipping cost or mandatory account creation, can create doubt and cause them to abandon their purchase, directly impacting your conversion and retention rate.
To solve this, focus on building a transparent and streamlined checkout experience:
Be Upfront About All Costs: Display shipping fees and taxes early in the process.
Offer a Guest Checkout Option: Forcing users to create an account is a major point of friction. Allow them to purchase as a guest.
Simplify the Form Fields: Only ask for essential information. Use tools that auto-fill addresses to make the process faster.
Removing these obstacles at the final step is critical for converting intent into a completed sale. Dive deeper into optimizing your checkout flow in the full article.
A primary challenge for D2C brands in the 'consideration' phase is building sufficient trust and credibility without the backing of a well-known marketplace. A potential customer might love a brand's social media presence but hesitate to purchase from an unfamiliar website, questioning product quality or the returns process.
Content is the most powerful tool to solve this trust deficit:
Showcase Social Proof: Feature customer testimonials, user-generated photos, and reviews from credible sources prominently on product pages.
Create In-Depth Guides: Develop blog posts or videos that educate the customer and demonstrate your expertise.
Be Transparent: Clearly explain your shipping policies, return process, and sourcing on a dedicated FAQ page.
By using content to answer questions and build confidence, D2C brands can guide customers through consideration and toward a confident purchase. Uncover more content strategies in the complete guide.
As a Growth Marketing and Key Accounts Manager at Flipkart, Pranjal leads the mattress vertical of the Furniture business in the consumer goods sector. With more than 4 years of experience in brand marketing, E-commerce, and Growth Management, her career journey spans across various industries such as FMCG, Fashion, and E-commerce domains. She has also helped a lot of small businesses and startups in their marketing strategy, with one of them getting funded on Shark Tank India. She has shown consistency in guiding businesses across various industries. She has also worked in both Indian and International environments and holds expertise in consumer behavior across various target groups and countries.
Growth Strategy and Planning
