Our latest eBook The Future of Wholesale Report: Fortune Favors the Digital compiles the findings of our survey of 688 responses from brands like you, who answered questions about the channel as a revenue source, retailer relationships, and common pain points within the current wholesale distribution model.
The full eBook is currently available for download here.
Here’s an overview of our findings and topics we’ll be covering:A New Era of Wholesale
For some time wholesale has been playing digital catch up with B2C and D2C online buying experiences, from paper catalogs to cumbersome in-person ordering systems. Wholesale buyers know what type of shopping experience to expect from their own purchases and an un-digitized ordering system does not live up to those expectations.
Now, brands are adopting B2B solutions that provide the critical data they need to stay agile, sell faster and more accurately, provide functional and compelling digital linesheets, and ultimately a customer experience that keeps buyers coming back.
The Challenges that Lie Ahead
Such a radical digital change can be intimidating for many businesses to implement. However, we’ve all seen that those who can most rapidly adapt in the context of our rapidly changing world will find the most success in the digital era.
There’s a lot to improve on from an industry perspective, from lack of standardization, support from retail partnerships to alignment on the process as a whole.
Retailer Relationships
Strong retail relationships are a key aspect of a successful wholesale business for your brand. So where are brands and wholesale distributors looking for accounts? Trade shows stand as key meeting points for many, so it makes sense to see many trade shows turning to technology to provide digitized experiences of their events.
And how are brands feeling about their relationships with retailers? Almost 80% of respondents stated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with these partnerships. On the other hand, respondents also state that a lack of forward-thinking change is something they would like to see change within the wholesale process.
This lack of forward-thinking change results in an over-reliance on physical showrooms and trade shows as contributing factors to slowing down growth.
“I think with specialty business still so valuable, it is hard to implement change. Many of these smaller stores are still working by analog- they are extremely resistant to new technologies & processes."
SURVEY RESPONDENT ON RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
Conclusion
Wholesale is continuing to be a highly profitable channel for brands and their continued investment signals its importance in our digital era. Almost every industry has undergone a digital transformation to stay afloat, and fashion, apparel, and outdoor markets are no different. Those who’ve evolved are finding the most success. Resistance to change can be a common blocker and hold back both retailers and brands from maximizing their growth.
