Great to have you back for a new episode of Insights. My name is Joubin Rahimi, and today it's about the second thesis of our D2C study. "Buying directly from manufacturers is already widespread. However, consumers fundamentally want more shopping options." Okay, now for the relaxed part.

Buying from manufacturer already quite widespread. Over 42% of respondents already bought from manufacturer and probably many, many more, if we don't limit to this industry. Whoever has iPhone always buys from manufacturer, namely the apps. Relatively simple. But we're in other environment too. So it's about discovering potentials and knowing and using them. Fails often already there, because capacity in company missing to deal with it. And before I think about D2C strategy, must tackle exactly this point. Must free up time or hire someone who really penetrate this topic area, how can I understand user. Interest high, to buy directly from manufacturer.

68 percent of those surveyed said they would also prefer to buy from the manufacturer in certain subject areas. Only around 26 percent said they'd rather buy from the retailer. So most people want to buy from you in certain situations, but can't, because the offers aren't there. We have customer situations we've supported for a long time who said: no, due to our trade structures and partnerships, we don't want to sell direct. But hey, why? In a nutshell: you typically sell at list price. The retailer often discounts, combines with other products, brands, manufacturers, and covers something quite different. So for you as a manufacturer, it's important to actually offer what the relevant consumers want.

Short anecdote from insurance. Insurers said for a very long time, no, we can't sell insurance online. It's all far too complex. Take a look at Lemonade, Lemonade is a liability insurer among other things and contents insurer, very smooth, very smart and aimed at young people. They say, I take 10% for my profit, x% for the corresponding cover of claims, and the rest I spend on social projects. The company is booming, precisely because the demand is there and everyone else is still just watching.

This affects your area too. Naturally there's a retailer preference too. But depending on which product's in the basket or being purchased, it's a very different case. We've seen that in categories like sanitary, heating, air conditioning, prefabricated components, consumers are more interested in the manufacturer, and interestingly the retailer for plants, accessories, gardening, tools, electrics. Personally it'd be different for me, but the data shows exactly this split. Ultimately we need to look at how we can position ourselves correctly in our D2C strategy. And purchasing behaviour is naturally changing there. And I'd just like to remind everyone what Mediamarkt and co went through for a long time. Before the internet age, it was like this: I went to the retailer, they advised me, recommended a product. I bought it there. Today I go online, get the information and decide what to buy and get it wherever I want. If that's straightforward in this context because I say I want this mirror from Villeroy & Boch, or personally, I bought my Stihl chainsaw from Stihl directly, that's something where we then look very specifically at the case. But now comes the big but. We're forgetting the future. And what happens with the future?

Chat GPT & Co make previously complex purchases much simpler. That means, as a brand manufacturer, it’s hugely important for you to generate content that can also be processed and read by Chat GPT and other generative AIs, so that with a prompt request like: how do I build a sauna and what do I need? Your products, among others, appear accordingly and you’re well represented throughout that whole chain. For this reason, it’s not only important to look at the “as is”, but also, especially with Chat GPT, to see how it will change in future.

And that was our second thesis, proven again: as a manufacturer you really have to step forward, because customers expect it.

We have three further pieces of information:

Point 1 naturally the study. After providing your name, e-mail address and phone number. And yes, we'll call you too and look forward to a brief chat. Even if you've no interest or aren't our ideal client, you'll get all the data from this study that will help you. Here's the link to the study: https://kampagnen.synaigy.com/de/d2cstudie

Point 2, the core of this study is customer experience. That means we've developed a maturity model showing where you stand with your customer experience. You get that by answering seven questions, plus recommendations for action tailored to your situation. Here's the link to the free CX Readiness Check: https://kampagnen.synaigy.com/cx-readiness

Point 3 as a starter package with the ECC Next, the corresponding consulting arm of the Institute for Retail Research, and our specialists from strategic consulting, a starter offer to move forward on the topic quickly and efficiently without any waffle.