Welcome to The Week in Direct-to-Consumer, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights that sums up the latest news in the DTC space.

DTC apparel brand Universal Standard launches size exchange program

DTC apparel brand Universal Standard has launched Fit Liberty, “a size exchange program that allows customers to swap one of their styles for a new size if the original no longer fits, free of charge,” Retail Dive’s Howard Ruben reports. Fit Liberty gives customers up to one year to exchange for a new piece, Ruben notes, adding that the program’s collection features over 400 items — including denim, dresses and athleisure — in sizes 00 to 40, and starting at $50. The program is available through Universal Standard’s DTC channels: its website and New York City showroom, as well as its pop-up shops.

See also: DTC apparel brands continue to boost their trade-in and exchange program efforts. In February, approximately 2,000 consumers lined up for Athleta’s one-day trade-in event at select New York City stores, as we noted in a recent edition of 10 marketing, media and industry statistics to know now.

Boston Beer Co. launches DTC beverage line General Admission

Boston Beer Company — parent of brands such as Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard and Truly Hard Seltzers — just launched its first DTC website, www.drinkGA.com, to sell General Admission, its non-alcoholic (NA) fruit-flavored beverage line, Consumer Goods Technology’s Liz Dominguez reports. Boston Beer Head of Innovation Tim Kerrigan tells Dominguez that the company expects to derive fruitful insights from the DTC experiment: “We have the opportunity to simultaneously test and market our hypotheses on both a regional and national scale, both at traditional retail locations and through the growing e-commerce channel — it’s really a win from all angles.”

See also: Quad Insights recently dove into the NA trend in “Spirited choices: marketing non-alcoholic beverages in a boozy world.”

Digiday explores DTC marketer backlash to Temu’s surging ad spending

Citing sharply rising ad costs across Meta platforms and Temu’s surging social media advertising spend, DTC marketers are pointing fingers at the online marketplace for rising costs on the platforms, Digiday’s Seb Joseph and Krystal Scanlon report. Though Temu’s ad spending has risen dramatically, it would be difficult to label the company’s massive outlay as anything more than a contributing factor to rising prices, Joseph and Scanlon note. However, the situation is emblematic of DTC advertising’s current state as a whole: “a fiercely competitive arena where hefty investments by newcomers can disrupt market dynamics,” they add. MediaRadar data from January to March shows that Temu invested more than $46 million in advertising across various social platforms, with Facebook capturing 98% of the spend during the first quarter, Digiday reports. Read the full story here.

Ad Age explores the impact of Foxtrot Market’s closure for DTC

In an article titled “What Foxtrot Market’s abrupt closure means for DTC brand awareness,” Ad Age’s Phoebe Bain reports that on Tuesday Foxtrot Market parent Outfox Hospitality shut down the specialty grocery chain’s 33 stores, which included locations in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and Austin, Texas. Having functioned as the first wholesale partner for DTC brands such as Graza and Fishwife, Foxtrot helped them “seem more legitimate when pitching larger retailers such as Whole Foods,” Bain notes. “Foxtrot was an incredible hub for innovation and an amazing partner to bright-eyed entrepreneurs,” CEO and Co-Founder of DTC sparkling water brand Aura Bora Paul Voge told Bain. Read the full story here.

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