Ecommerce Predictions for DTC in 2025
As DTC ecommerce continues to evolve, the competitive landscape in 2025 will demand more from brands than ever before. Winning strategies will go beyond the basics—embracing innovation, personalization, and adaptability across every touchpoint. From harnessing advanced technologies to reshaping customer experiences and exploring untapped channels, the next year promises transformative shifts.
This collection of expert predictions brings together insights from leaders across ecommerce, offering a roadmap for growth in an increasingly complex marketplace. For brands ready to seize the moment, these trends provide a clear path to strengthen customer connections, drive efficiency, and scale smarter in the year ahead.
Recharge
“2025 is going to be the year that DTC ecommerce brands really tailor their strategies to suit long-term customer relationships. With so many innovative products out there, it’s no longer enough to sell a great product, you have to have a customer experience that matches. At Recharge – and in the subscription space at large – we’re seeing brands hone in on tools and practices that customize and elevate the subscriber experience with flexible options that reward customers for their loyalty. Brands with the vision to think about what their customers will need and want tomorrow and beyond, are the brands that will have staying power in 2025.”
Lindy Crea | VP, Revenue Development & Partnerships | Recharge
Proxima
The brands that win in 2025 will be the ones that embrace new avenues to reach high-value prospects. 2024 was a big year for creative testing, and will continue to be moving forward, but brands need to do more than nailing creative. We see this being two-fold:
- Channel diversification
- Audience targeting
While Meta maintains the lion’s share of ad spend (and will for the foreseeable future), our top clients are leaning into a variety of “new” channels including CTV/LTV, AppLovin, Direct Mail, TikTok, Pinterest, and more. Diversifying into new channels increases your brand’s surface area and improves the blended efficiency of your marketing engine.
Secondly, we’re seeing brands refine their targeting strategy instead of just going broad and trusting the system. This is especially true on Meta. Experimenting with things like interest stacks – as well as third-party tools for data-enriched audiences and predictive Conversion APIs – can significantly enhance your ad performance and scalability using the winning creatives you’ve already produced.
The truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to paid social. The smartest brands will double down on testing and find what works for them.
Alex Song | Founder & CEO | Proxima
Triple Whale
To thrive in 2025, brands must prioritize creating personalized, data-driven experiences that resonate deeply with their customers. Tools like Triple Whale enable brands to harness real-time insights, empowering them to make agile decisions that improve customer journeys and drive meaningful connections. By tracking key metrics across channels, brands can identify trends, optimize campaigns, and tailor their messaging to meet customer needs at the right time. This commitment to understanding and responding to customer behavior fosters loyalty, turning satisfied shoppers into enthusiastic advocates who amplify a brand’s impact.
Daniela Rouse | Head of Ecosystem Marketing | Triple Whale
Firework
As we look ahead to 2025, one of the most critical shifts for DTC eCommerce brands will be the move to integrate video commerce into owned and operated consumer-facing platforms. While social channels remain an important part of the customer journey, brands are recognizing the value of building direct relationships with their audience on their own websites and apps. By doing so, they can take full control of the customer experience, leverage first-party data, and reduce reliance on third-party platforms.
Video commerce—through shoppable videos and live streaming—will serve as a powerful tool to achieve this. It allows brands to create immersive, interactive shopping experiences that bring storytelling to life while driving higher engagement and conversions. Features like live Q&A, personalized product showcases, and gamified elements don’t just sell products—they build lasting communities and loyalty. In a world where customer trust and data ownership are increasingly vital, video commerce will continue to become a key part of successful DTC strategies.
Discover how Firework can help your brand take control of its video commerce strategy on owned and operated platforms. Request a Demo.
Sam Horton | Sr. Director, Strategic Ecosystem/Alliance Partnerships | Firework
Gorgias
According to a 2024 Gorgias survey, 77% of customer experience leaders report that customers expect faster responses than in previous years. This means features like “a human touch” are still valued, but they take a backseat to what customers prioritize most: getting instant answers to their questions.
To prepare for 2025, it’s critical to incorporate AI and automation into your support processes. Start by identifying repetitive tasks like responding to ‘Where is my order?’ tickets and set up automated replies. Connect your helpdesk to a returns and exchanges app so customers can initiate returns without waiting for an agent.
Catching up to rising customer expectations means giving customers everything they need upfront — through automation, self-serve resources, and access to human assistance when necessary.
Ellen Zhang | Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager | Gorgias
Angler AI
1. Value Optimization
In 2025 Meta will be introducing a suite of new tools under the Value Optimization banner, including predicted lifetime value (pLTV) optimization, contribution margin-based strategies, and carousel ads with value-based product assortments. The common thread among these offerings is an increased level of control for advertisers, enabling them to define and optimize around the value-to-CAC metric.
2. Direct Response Playbook for DTC brands with longer consideration window
DTC brands with longer consideration cycles or delayed revenue models (e.g., free trials), will establish their own playbooks within this value optimization framework. By leveraging mid-funnel events with a high-value prediction, like leads or add-to-cart actions, brands will create tailored direct response strategies to capture and nurture high-value prospects.
3. Convert the Moveable Middle
For DTC brands in highly competitive categories like beauty and fast fashion, growth in 2025 will hinge on reaching and engaging the “moveable middle” — the audiences that can be persuaded but are not yet committed buyers. Whether on platforms like Meta, TikTok, or Snap, DTC brands will increasingly invest in reaching these audiences by shifting some of their budgets from in-market buyer optimization (demand capture) to full-funnel demand generation tactics.
Reeto Mookherjee, Ph.D | CEO & Co-Founder | Angler AI
LoyaltyLion
Integrated Loyalty: A Must-Have for Shopify Stores in 2025
Reward redemption has historically been a challenge—on average, only 50% of rewards are redeemed. But this trend is shifting rapidly. Today’s DTC shoppers are more eager than ever to engage with loyalty programs: 73% actively seek opportunities to redeem rewards, and 66% say the ability to earn and use rewards directly influences their spending behavior.
This presents a massive opportunity for Shopify stores. Redeeming loyalty members consistently shop more frequently and spend more per purchase, driving significantly higher customer lifetime value (CLV) than non-members. To fully unlock this potential, an integrated loyalty strategy that simplifies and encourages reward redemption is essential.
Why? 80% of consumers now value a seamless experience as much as product quality. To meet this expectation, loyalty programs need to be embedded across every touchpoint of the customer journey—from a dedicated loyalty page to personalized emails that highlight rewards, and even at checkout, where redemption should be frictionless.
By weaving loyalty into the entire shopping experience, you not only boost reward redemption rates but also set your store on a path to greater growth and long-term success in 2025.
Rhian Wadsworth | Partner Marketing Manager | LoyaltyLion
Fospha
Brands are increasingly leveraging automated campaigns powered by machine learning – this is the key trend to watch. As of Q4, brands spend an average of ~24% of budget in Performance Max, while ~38% of the average Meta budget is in Advantage+. We’ve also noticed the rapid adoption of TikTok’s Smart+ campaign.
In the last 12 months, brands have opted in for AI to drive decisions over target audience and ad placements while they focus more on the levers they can control: creative and measurement. This shift in focus will help brands gain a scalable competitive advantage in 2025 and beyond.
Jamie Bolton | VP Growth | Fospha
Linnworks
In 2025, the way we shop online will feel more social than ever. We’re glued to our mobiles, constantly scrolling on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and that’s shaping how brands sell to us. TikTok has clearly redefined online shopping—making it less about searching and more about discovering. For DTC brands, this means leaning into social selling, creating content that’s not just about products but about engaging and inspiring their audiences. Shopping will feel like a natural extension of the social media experience, not a separate step.
At the same time, marketplaces aren’t going anywhere. They’re still where so many of us prefer to shop, thanks to their convenience and breadth of choice. For DTC brands, this is a wake-up call: selling directly isn’t enough anymore! In 2025, we’ll see more brands adding marketplaces to their sales channels, ensuring they’re visible wherever their customers like to shop. The challenge will be finding the right balance—maintaining a strong brand identity while also leveraging the reach and infrastructure of marketplaces.”
Georgia Leybourne | CMO | Linnworks
Social Snowball
Educational Content Will Reign Supreme in 2025
We’re witnessing a pivotal shift in consumer behavior, particularly in the DTC ecommerce space, where educational content paired with authentic creator partnerships is emerging as a dominant strategy for 2025. As consumers—especially Gen Z and Millennials—become more sophisticated, they are increasingly tuning out traditional ads and flashy celebrity endorsements. According to a recent study by HubSpot, 80% of consumers prefer brands that provide educational content over ones that merely push products. This trend underscores the need for brands to focus on delivering value first, leveraging creators to build trust and resonance.
Why is this happening? Consumers are growing adept at recognizing the mechanics of online advertising. They know when they’re being sold to and are more likely to ignore traditional ads. On the other hand, content that educates or entertains while subtly incorporating a product has proven to drive higher engagement and conversion rates. A recent TikTok study highlighted that educational or tutorial-style videos have a 54% higher completion rate compared to purely promotional content, making them a key lever for DTC brands aiming to cut through the noise.
As platforms like TikTok Shop evolve, this trend will amplify. Creators who weave educational storytelling into their content will not only increase product discovery but also foster deeper consumer trust, creating a flywheel effect of engagement and revenue.
Zohaib Rattu | VP of Growth | Social Snowball
Insense
1. Social Commerce Will Continue to Dominate
Social commerce will remain a driving force in the DTC landscape. TikTok Shop has proven to platforms, users, and sellers that it’s possible to grow and sell directly within social media ecosystems.
2. Greater Investment in Organic Channels
With paid media becoming more expensive and harder to scale—especially after Meta’s underwhelming performance in the first half of the year—the role of organic reach will become more vital. Combining organic and paid strategies will offer the most effective path for growth. This includes tactics like product seeding, influencer partnerships, and strengthening a brand’s presence on organic platforms.
3. Acquisition Will Remain Essential, but Retention Is the Key to Sustainability
Relying solely on acquisition is no longer enough. Brands that prioritize retention—through strategies like SMS marketing, email campaigns, and loyalty programs—will be the ones that build sustainable, profitable businesses.
Danil Saliukov | CEO and Co-founder | Insense
adQuadrant
TikTok Shop launched at the end of 2023 and began making waves in 2024, firmly establishing itself as a major force in social commerce. In 2025, DTC brands will increasingly view social commerce as a must-have sales channel. With numerous success stories from 2024 serving as proof of concept, established players are likely to ramp up their budgets, while competing brands will invest in testing and scaling their strategies to stay competitive. The fear of falling behind is real, and many will be motivated by watching their competition succeed.
At the same time, Meta and Google are expected to deepen their commitment to social commerce, while new entrants may challenge TikTok Shop for market share. This heightened competition will drive innovation, creating a landscape where adopting social commerce becomes both easier and indispensable. For DTC brands, 2025 will mark the year when social commerce transitions from an experiment to an essential part of their ecommerce strategy.
Scott Skurnick | VP, Integrated Media | adQuadrant
adQuadrant
Social Commerce: A Growing Opportunity to Redefine Consumer Connections
Social commerce is poised to become one of the most transformative opportunities for brands in 2025, with platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and emerging players enabling groundbreaking ways to connect with consumers. These platforms are rapidly evolving into full-fledged shopping ecosystems, blending entertainment with commerce to deliver personalized, shoppable experiences at scale. But the real opportunity lies beyond the technology—it’s about building genuine relationships with consumers. Strategies such as leveraging social proof, partnering with authentic influencers, and curating user-generated content will remain essential, but success will require a deeper commitment to transparency and shared values. Brands that integrate commerce seamlessly into their content, prioritizing trust and authenticity, will not only capture attention but foster lasting loyalty.
CMO-CFO Alignment: The New Growth Imperative
The widening gap between marketing and finance teams is one of the most pressing challenges for DTC brands heading into 2025. CMOs and CFOs must work together to align marketing strategies with financial metrics like contribution margin and customer lifetime value. This partnership is increasingly critical in an unpredictable economic environment where profitability matters more than ever. A recent Deloitte report shows that 60% of CMOs are now measured on revenue growth, highlighting the need for marketing leaders to speak the language of finance. Brands that break down silos and foster collaboration between these two roles will gain the agility to scale effectively while maintaining profitability. A clear-eyed view of marketing’s financial impact will set the foundation for sustainable growth.
Jeremy Fenderson | Senior Director of Strategy | adQuadrant
