---
Title: "The State of D2C Marketing in 2019"
Date: "2019-09-16T08:48:41+00:00"
---

The shift toward direct-to-consumer commerce has unleashed a revolution in how brands sell. With traditional retail upended, eCommerce has emerged as an equalizing force for brands, prompting them to reimagine their most significant direct touchpoint with their customers: their website.

With eCommerce in the U.S. surpassing $517 billion annually and growing (Statista), we decided to delve into the key investments that D2C brands are making to set themselves apart in this highly competitive arena. [Our latest report](/state-of-d2c/) uncovers everything from top KPIs to marketing channel prioritization to key eCommerce investments (customer content, loyalty programs, and referrals), sliced and diced by company size and by industry verticals.

## About the report: The State of D2C Marketing

[The report](/state-of-d2c/) is based on an online survey conducted March-April 2019, in partnership with Magento, an Adobe company. It includes the responses of 512 eCommerce and marketing decision-makers, **41% of them brand founders.**

Respondents are located worldwide and use a variety of eCommerce platforms including Magento Commerce, Shopify, SAP Hybris, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. They represent brands across all industries, including Fashion & Accessories, Health & Beauty, Electronics & Telecom, and Food, Beverage, & Tobacco.

## Key findings

**For the D2C brands surveyed in this report, the top three marketing KPIs across verticals and businesses of all sizes are:**

- eCommerce sales \[60%\]
- New customers \[54%\]
- Conversion rates \[53%\]

[![Which Marketing KPIs Should You Prioritize?](https://wordpress-1414901-5270164.cloudwaysapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/page-1.png "page 1 The State of D2C Marketing in 2019 1")](https://wordpress-1414901-5270164.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/top-marketing-kpis/)

**The top three acquisition channels across verticals and business sizes are:**

- Social media \[61%\]
- SEO \[51%\]
- Direct traffic \[50%\]

[![What Are Your Top Acquisition Channels?](https://wordpress-1414901-5270164.cloudwaysapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/page-1-1.png "page 1 1 The State of D2C Marketing in 2019 2")](https://wordpress-1414901-5270164.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/top-acquisition-channels/)

Interestingly, despite their reliance on social media, **63% of D2C brands see equal or greater ROI from referrals than they do from digital ads,** indicating an effective, fixed-cost acquisition channel at a time when social ad costs are steadily climbing.

[![How Should You Invest in Acquisition?](https://wordpress-1414901-5270164.cloudwaysapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/page-1-2.png "page 1 2 The State of D2C Marketing in 2019 3")](https://wordpress-1414901-5270164.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/acquisition-investment/)

Finally, the report reveals that across the board how **brands are investing in on-site experiences like reviews (73%), customer photos (36%), customer videos (15%), referrals (33%), and loyalty programs (31%).** The implementation of these key commerce marketing tools gives brands an edge and helps them build better, more authentic connections with their customer base.

## See the full report

To find the benchmarks on everything from Facebook Ad spend for your vertical to the key marketing KPIs for your company size, [take a look at the full report here](/state-of-d2c/).