Redefining Retail

3The Direct‐to‐Consumer (D2C) Revolution: A Double‐Edged Sword

One of the most intriguing effects of the digital revolution, at least over the last two decades, was the decoupling of “presence” and “location.” It's now possible to be “present” in a particular environment without physically being there. During the pandemic we fully experienced the pros and cons of this decoupling, and today we're still trying to find the right balance between physical and digital presence in various domains. If we combine this process with the possibilities of Retail 3.0—purchasing goods and services through digital channels—we can fully appreciate the power of what is typically defined as “disintermediation.” This is a process by which companies can leverage digital channels such as social media and e‐commerce to bypass intermediaries so as to directly interact with the final customer. Though facility with this new opportunity calls for the development of specific skills and capabilities, the potential upsides—especially of increased profitability and access to first‐party data—are very attractive.

This phenomenon has affected, and is affecting, incredibly diverse sectors, giving rise to new concentrations of power. In some cases, it has created new intermediaries like Alibaba, Airbnb, Amazon, Booking, Deliveroo, eBay, Farfetch, JustEat, Taobao, YNaP, and many others. In other cases, it has offered the opportunity for companies that were previously only B2B to establish a direct relationship ...