The D2C Opportunity B2B Manufacturers Can't Ignore

Direct-to-consumer selling used to be the preserve of consumer brands. B2B manufacturers sold through distributors, dealers, and sales teams — and largely kept their distance from the end customer. That model is changing, and faster than many expected.

New independent research by Sapio Research reveals that 83% of B2B firms now sell direct-to-consumer — an increase of 17% since 2024. This isn't a niche trend. It's a structural shift in how B2B companies go to market, and it has significant implications for platforms, processes, and competitive positioning.

"83% of B2B firms now sell D2C — up 17% since 2024. The distinction between B2B and B2C selling is blurring faster than most predicted."

Why B2B firms are going direct

The motivations are straightforward. D2C gives manufacturers greater control over the customer experience, better margin capture, and direct access to purchase data that would otherwise sit with a distributor. In a market where customer experience is increasingly the primary competitive differentiator, cutting out intermediaries can be transformative.

There's also a digital enablement factor. The same eCommerce infrastructure that powers B2B portals can, with the right platform, be extended to support D2C selling without building an entirely separate technology stack. Firms that have already invested in sophisticated B2B eCommerce capabilities are discovering that the incremental cost of adding D2C is relatively low — while the revenue and strategic upside can be significant.

The pipeline is full

Of the 17% of B2B firms not yet selling D2C, 44% plan to do so in the future — with 34% targeting the next one to two years. This suggests the current 83% adoption rate will continue climbing, and that the competitive landscape for direct sales is set to intensify further.

For manufacturers in industrial, spare parts, and aftermarket sectors — areas where DynamicWeb and Truvio Commerce have deep expertise — D2C creates a particularly compelling opportunity. End customers who previously had to go through a dealer or distributor to access parts and services can instead use a self-service portal to find, configure, and purchase exactly what they need. That's better for the customer and better for the manufacturer's margin.

The platform question

The critical enabler of successful D2C expansion for B2B firms is having a commerce platform that can genuinely support both models without compromise. B2B and D2C have different requirements around pricing, customer accounts, order minimums, payment terms, and catalogue presentation — and managing these on separate systems creates complexity and data inconsistency.

Truvio Commerce is designed for exactly this multi-model reality. The platform supports B2B, B2C, and D2C business models from a single architecture, with real-time ERP integration ensuring that pricing, inventory, and business logic remain consistent regardless of which channel a customer is buying through.

The B2B / D2C distinction is blurring. The firms that build the right infrastructure now will be better positioned to capture demand on both sides of that line.