Bridging DTC and Wholesale: Your Brand’s Path to Growth

In the competitive landscape of active outdoor brands, finding innovative ways to expand reach and increase revenue is always top of mind. While the direct-to-consumer (DTC) route has its clear perks—think direct feedback and juicy ROI data—the wholesale channel is stepping back into the spotlight, proving itself crucial for amping up sales and building brand visibility. 

Taking a leaf from the playbook of giants like Nike, more brands are making strategic moves back into investing in wholesale, a clear nod to its importance in achieving a well-rounded market presence and revenue boosting capabilities.  

Amid this evolving scene, the power of retail sales enablement platforms starts to shine, acting as the perfect mediator between your brands DTC efforts and wholesale ambitions, ensuring you get the best ROI of both worlds. 

The Real Challenge: Mastering Wholesale 

In a world dominated by online shopping, a whopping 85% of consumers still crave the hands-on experience of in-store shopping.  

But diving into wholesale can feel like navigating uncharted waters. How do you measure success in a realm where metrics aren’t as clear-cut as in DTC? This is where retail sales enablement platforms like ENDVR come into play, simplifying the journey into wholesale with tools designed for brands to increase sales for their products in physical stores.  

So, you may be wondering how brands optimize store performance to justify wholesale investment. Explore these three key strategies: 

1. Leverage Analytics:
   a. Understand the most effective way to deploy digital education, sales incentives, and retail operations with measurable ROI.
   
2. Direct Interaction with Frontline Impact: 
   a. Connect directly with frontline staff to gauge the impact, ensuring sales contests and digital education contribute to improved sales and sell-through. Burton has successfully used ENDVR for North American digital education outreach, showcasing its contribution to improved sell-through.
3. Amplify In-Store Displays:
   a. With a staggering $104 billion revenue loss tied to poorly executed displays, brands embracing retail automation technologies alleviate this loss and witness the positive impact of their retail investment. 

Powering Your Frontline and Witnessing the ROI Magic 

The real game-changer? Activating your frontline sales teams. This crucial engagement establishes emotional bonds with customers, essential for fostering brand loyalty, advocacy and visibility in wholesale. But how are brands achieving this? Through platforms like ENDVR, brands like Oakley, Burton, Vuori, OTIS Eyewear and more are able to deliver consistent messages, drive internal digital education campaigns, and empower teams with knowledge across wholesale channels and stores. When sales associates receive product education from brands through apps like ENDVR, their confidence in selling those brand products increases by 97%. This direct connection demonstrates a remarkable shift in ROI from 2.9:1 to an incredible 35:1 with ENDVR.  

This kind of success story is what makes investing in wholesale, equipped with the right tools, not just a choice but a strategy for substantial growth. 

Success in Action: Nike’s Leap 

So why are brands like Nike committing more budget every year to wholesale? Nixon is a great example of a brand whose partnership with ENDVR is a testament to the platform’s ability to elevate wholesale performance. By leveraging digital sales incentives and digital education, Nixon has significantly increased its wholesale presence, setting a benchmark for what’s possible when you combine great products with cutting-edge sales enablement platforms. 

Digital Transformation: Empowering Brands for Retail Success 

For brands ready to enhance their wholesale strategy and see a real uptick in revenue, it’s time to explore what ENDVR can do for you. Join the ranks of other top brands like Vuori, Oakley, Burton, OTIS Eyewear, Nixon and more already using ENDVR and are redefining their wholesale success.  

Visit ENDVR.io to increase your brand’s sales in brick-and-mortar stores. 

For more information about Retail Strategies in 2024, checkout ENDVR’s Checklist, here, a guide for active and outdoor brands seeking success in today’s wholesale market.