This is the free version of Trends PRO #0028 — Subscription DTC
🔍 Problem
Big brands make products for everyone. And no one.
💡 Solution
DTC brands move fast to serve niches. Some automate shopping with subscriptions.
📘 Terms
DTC (Direct-to-consumer)
Selling directly to buyers. Without retailers or wholesalers. This broad term, technically, includes software, media and more. But we’ll focus on physical goods.
Subscription
Recurring purchases and delivery of goods. Removing the need to re-order.
🏁 Players
Subscription DTC Brands
🔮 Predictions
- Competition on paid platforms will shift spend to influencers. Some will eventually ask… Why take endorsements instead of equity?
- Products will be copied. Few DTC brands are original. Winners nail acquisition.
- Current customers will guide brand expansions. Quip sells dental insurance. Theragun sells CBD products. Dollar Shave Club sells toothpaste. Brand expansions increase CLV and justifiable CAC. Building barriers for new players to compete in paid channels. (Via Ethan Jones)
☁️ Opportunities
- Build an audience. Organic acquisition shields unit economics from fluctuating ad prices.
- Use growth tools. You can buy this course for $249 or subscribe to Simply Earth.
- Test copy and packaging first. See if anyone will buy before you build. Justin Mares validated Kettle & Fire with Fiverr, Unbounce and Bing. (Via Marco Marandiz)
- Use gamification to boost engagement. Crave Cookie has a flavor of the week. MeUndies encourages you to build your collection.
🔑 Key Lessons
- Build an audience first. Dominance in paid channels is temporary. Organic acquisition is the holy grail.
- Use the razor and blades model. Bottomless, quip and Harry’s lead with one item then replenishments.
- Code, manufacturing, fulfillment, branding and paid acquisition are being commoditized. New products get copied. Brands compete on acquisition.
😠 Haters
“DTC isn’t all about about acquisition. Brand matters too.”
Brand matters to current customers. Similar brands fight for new customers. With adspend as ammo. Organic acquisition is one of the only functions that hasn’t been commoditized.
🔗 Links
- On Linear Commerce — Build an audience before a product.
- Bringing DTC Brands into the Subscription Space — Creative ways for non-subscription DTC brands to adopt subscription models.
- Casper and DTC Brands — It’s dangerous to compete on adspend alone.
Get Weekly Reports
Join 65,000+ founders and investors
📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds
Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…
🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.
📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.
💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.
🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.
💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.
What you’ll get:
- 36 Subscription DTC Brands (350% More)
- 7 Predictions (133% More)
- 5 Key Lessons (66% More)
- 7 Opportunities (75% More)
- 8 Summarized Links (166% More)
With Trends Pro you’ll learn:
- (📈 Pro) How to leverage virality for growth?
- (📈 Pro) How to nudge user-generated content?
- (📈 Pro) How are legacy brands entering DTC markets?
- (📈 Pro) Why will SSO experiences (mostly) win in the long-run?
- (📈 Pro) What happens if DTC brands refuse to go multi-channel?
- (📈 Pro) How does Amazon use sales data to compete with sellers?
- and a lot more…
