Discount Strategy for E-Commerce D2C Brands: Insights for AW 2024

As we prepare for the Autumn/Winter (AW) 2024 season, it’s essential for Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) e-commerce brands to adopt a strategic discounting approach that maximises sales while preserving brand value. Leveraging detailed data from top-selling sweatshirts, here’s a comprehensive discount strategy tailored for leading brands in this segment.

Key Data Insights

1. Distribution of Patterns in Top-Selling Sweatshirts

• Dominant Patterns: Solid patterns lead, with significant shares for graphic, geometric, typographic, abstract, and conversational patterns.
• Implication: Consumers prefer versatile and visually appealing designs, particularly solid and graphic patterns.

2. Distribution of Selling Prices

• Price Range: Most top-sellers are priced between ?800 and ?2500, with a concentration around ?1000 to ?1500.
• Implication: This mid-range price point is optimal for consumer spending on sweatshirts.

3. Rank Based on Size Break vs. Selling Price

• Correlation: Best-sellers span various price points, but most are clustered in the mid-range.
• Implication: Consumers are willing to purchase across a wide range, but focus remains on mid-priced items.

Recommendations for Discount Strategy

Product Assortment

• Focus Areas: Continue prioritising solid and graphic patterns, which are the most popular. Include geometric, typographic, abstract, and conversational patterns to cater to diverse preferences.
• Premium Offerings: Introduce more abstract and geometric patterns in the premium segment to attract higher-paying customers.

Pricing Strategy

• Competitive Pricing: Maintain a competitive price range, especially around ?1000 to ?1500, which is the most popular.
• Premium Items: Ensure a few premium items are available to capture higher spending consumers.

Visual Insights

• Popular Patterns: Highlight the versatility of solid and graphic patterns in promotional materials.
• Mid-Range Prices: Focus on the ?899 to ?1499 price range in marketing campaigns.

Additional Insights

1. Distribution of Discounts in Top-Selling Sweatshirts
2. Average Selling Price by Pattern
3. Selling Price Distribution by Pattern
4. Average Selling Price Over Time
5. Distribution of Size Break Ranks

Recommendations

Discount Strategy

• Moderate Discounts: Focus on 30% OFF discounts to attract buyers while maintaining profitability.

Price Positioning

• Premium Items: Maintain higher average prices for premium items to leverage their positioning.
• Affordable Options: Continue competitive pricing for affordable options to appeal to cost-conscious consumers.

Product Assortment

• Popular Patterns: Ensure a robust inventory of solid and graphic patterns.
• Premium Patterns: Increase offerings of abstract and geometric patterns in the premium segment.

Inventory Management

• Popular Sizes: Ensure sufficient stock for popular sizes (M, L, XL) to meet demand.
• Adjust Inventory: Manage inventory levels based on size distribution to avoid overstocking or stock-outs.

Trends in Color Popularity

• Top Colurs: Black, grey, blue, and red dominate sales.
• Implication: Prioritise these colurs, with black, grey, and blue being essentials, and red for bold choices.

By integrating these data-driven insights into your discounting strategy for AW 2024, D2C brands can enhance their market positioning, drive sales, and maintain brand value effectively.

To know more and customise your D2C brand strategy, please connect XpertHive? Innovations we will be happy to help.

About ThrX? Design Process

The ThrX? Design Process is an innovative approach to apparel design that combines the latest trends with advanced data analytics to create products that resonate with consumers. Developed through extensive research and real-time market analysis, ThrX? offers a blend of creativity and practicality, ensuring that each piece is not only stylish but also meets market demands. This process helps D2C brands stay ahead of trends, optimize their inventory, and maximise their sales potential.

About the Author

Govind Kumar Singh is a seasoned fashion designer and industry expert with extensive experience in the e-commerce fashion sector. Having led India’s largest e-commerce platform's AI-driven initiative, Govind developed the ThrX? Design Process, which has become the backbone for over 50 D2C brands in India. His expertise lies in data-based trend forecasting, strategic planning, and leveraging emotional intelligence to navigate client and stakeholder negotiations. Govind is passionate about creating sustainable, innovative fashion that meets consumer needs while driving business success.