Will guiding shoppers to retailers hurt my DTC sales?

One of the most frequent misconceptions we come across is that driving shoppers to retailers is somehow in competition with DTC (or producer-enabled sales) efforts. We know that DTC (or producer-enabled sales for spirits brands) is an important element of many brands' sales strategy. We believe DTC and 3-Tier should work together, not in competition. This is a “yes/and,” not an “either/or" so we empower every brand to use them together or separately. 

We’ve found that including both DTC and 3-Tier options in consumer listings - when done strategically - creates meaningful lift in overall sales. The reason for this is actually quite simple - instead of only serving one group of shoppers (either those who buy DTC or those who buy at retail), you're enabling all shoppers to purchase your products in the way that works best for them!

Additional notes about Producer-Enabled Sales:

We know that regulations surrounding DTC and producer-enabled sales can exclude certain shoppers from purchasing their favorite brands' products online. Vendors that offer Producer-Enabled Sales models aggregate a network of retailers willing to accept a reduced margin shared between the brand and the service provider, enabling intrastate fulfillment, or they use the retailer’s license to clear transactions from a centralized warehouse. These tools are used heavily for spirits, international wineries, or importers, since most US wineries can ship DTC to a majority of states, and importers have access to 14+ state shipping. Importers sometimes use these types of services if the effort of direct fulfillment isn’t worth the cost. Their core value is greater margin retention and first-party data capture, or when distribution is limited.

As many brands know, regulators have scrutinized “loophole-adjacent” models, and entire states can shut them down (as Colorado recently did), which can be catastrophic if the model represents a primary revenue stream. Using these models as an exclusive channel introduces additional risks: 

• Their retailer footprint is relatively small, which means you’re not supporting the broader retail market that already carries your products - something larger chains often dislike.
• Many of these services also retain consumer relationships for their own marketing.

For our part and for a myriad of reasons, we have chosen BigThirst as our preferred partner for these services.