Omnichannel Growth Dries Up for Non-Essential DTC Brands

Period care brand Lola is now available on Walmart’s website and in 4,600+ of its stores. No cycles stop for a pandemic.

About the timing...it’s actually ideal. By partnering with Walmart, Lola can reach new customers beyond its online subscription channel. Meanwhile, this gives Walmart more inventory for a high-demand essentials category amid the pandemic.

From clicks to bricks and back

Lola’s move to Walmart illustrates how DTC expansion opportunities are split along essential/nonessential lines in the time of coronavirus.

From ThirdLove bras to Brooklinen sheets, tapping physical retail was originally stop No. 1 on the 2020 road to profitability. But it’s now a no-go because…

1. Nonessential brands can no longer operate their stores in most states.
2. Shoppers are pausing discretionary purchases—and some local governments and states are even blocking sales of nonessential goods at Target, Walmart, and Costco.

DTCs without an essential angle have one last option for increased exposure: blending their pastel logos with Amazon orange. As eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman noted to Modern Retail, selling on Amazon is the most reliable growth channel.