The Week in Direct-to-Consumer: June 14, 2024 edition

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.

Positioned as an affordable luxury beauty brand, Pretty Smart just launched online and at 2,800 Walmart stores, Retail Dive’s Howard Ruben reports. The brand, which was founded by industry veteran Marissa Shipman and created in partnership with Walmart, features 27 products ranging in price from $7.50 to $10, Ruben notes. The launch marks the latest step in Walmart’s beauty expansion, which also includes a partnership with DTC hair color brand Madison Reed, as we noted last fall in this column.

See also: “DTC supplement brand Hilma partners with Walmart,” as we noted in the May 17 edition of this column.

At the Glossy E-Commerce Summit this week, executives discussed how rising costs have made wholesale a higher-margin channel for some brands than DTC, Glossy’s Jill Manoff reports. Some reasons for this role reversal in the two channels cited by leaders at the conference include logistics, personnel and acquisition costs, Manoff notes. Keep reading here.

See also: “E-commerce venture capital deal count fell by more than 50% in 2023, per PitchBook,” as we noted in the March 29 edition of this column.

In what’s set to be a multi-year partnership, actress Zendaya has been announced as Swiss DTC athletic shoe and apparel brand On’s newest brand ambassador, Variety’s Anna Tingley reports. The two parties also debuted their first creative campaign with “Dream Together,” a one-minute short film starring Zendaya, Tingley notes, adding that the campaign aims to “open a conversation about how movement brings people together,” per a brand statement.

See also: “On Running Stock Leaps On Major Earnings Beat, Record Revenue” (Investor’s Business Daily)

DTC expansion:

• “Too Faced Is The Estée Lauder Cos.’ Next Brand to Hit Amazon” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Function of Beauty Launches on Amazon” (Beauty Packaging)

DTC trends:

• “Givenchy Beauty makes over Roblox space for Pride Month” (Marketing Dive)

DTC strategy:

• “GNC is launching same-day delivery via Uber Eats in a bid to capture more online orders” (Modern Retail)
• “DoorDash expands alcohol deliveries, along with ad options for liquor brands” (Retail Brew)