{"id":14613,"date":"2022-08-08T13:07:38","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T20:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaeljbrumm.com\/dcl-v3\/?p=14613"},"modified":"2023-11-10T09:25:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T17:25:50","slug":"ecommerce-success-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaeljbrumm.com\/dcl-v3\/blog\/supply-chain\/ecommerce-success-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ecommerce DTC Success Formula: How Direct-to-Consumer Brands Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s easier than ever to start an ecommerce brand. <\/span>Off the shelf ecommerce tools<\/span><\/a> like Shopify make it simple to build a webstore and promote products but fulfilling products and growing a loyal customer base is a lot harder.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brands that ship only direct-to-consumer (DTC) must take certain things into consideration, unlike brands who sell to retail or businesses. DTC ecommerce is all about the customer\u2014giving the customer a great experience through the entire journey from shopping to unboxing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some real-life examples of the ways high-growth DTC brands can scale to meet their customer\u2019s demands.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Packaging Can Significantly Affect Shipping Costs\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you ship direct-to-consumer you want to make sure specialty packaging isn\u2019t going to leave you overpaying on shipping costs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many DTC brands want to stand out from the other brown boxes by adding their own branding and flair. What they don\u2019t understand is that branded packaging and low-cost shipping may be diametrically opposed. Specialty sized boxes will cost more to ship. Any extra weight from special packing materials will cost more to ship.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brands who want to leave their mark but not pay extra on shipping should avoid custom boxes but investigate shippable cartons.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another aspect of packaging strategy involves how products are placed in a box, and how many boxes the customers are sent. Take innovative breast pump brand, Willow for example. They pioneered a hands-free breast pump for busy moms on-the-go. They noticed that many customers were buying accessories which meant shipping multiple boxes per order.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When they reconfigured how products fit into the outer carton (also known as <\/span>kitting<\/span><\/a>) they realized they could fit more accessories into a single box. With a natural postage reduction when you go from two boxes to one, <\/span>Willow ended up saving 50% in shipping costs<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Know Your Transportation Costs, Including DIMs and Surcharges\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The last thing a small business needs is surprise fees. It\u2019s hard enough to manage the cash flow of a new business, if any fees come up that weren\u2019t accounted for it can be detrimental to a small brand.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shipping costs is a big area where merchants often get hit with surprise fees. The past two years have shown how often carriers can increase rates and add extra charges without much notice.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two of the biggest places that merchants have been tripped up by transportation costs lately include DIM weights and surcharges.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n