Topic
d2c
E-Commerce & Marketplaces AI reshapes D2C growth engines but human judgment still defines brand outcomes, say founders at ETRetail Summit
At the ETRetail E-Commerce and Digital Natives Summit 2026, leaders from Zivame, Urban Ladder, Yoga Bars, DrinkPrime, and Trustsignal discussed how AI is transforming performance marketing, retention analytics, and content speed, but emphasized that critical decisions around brand trust, positioning, and customer experience still require human oversight. Panelists highlighted AI's role in reducing customer acquisition costs and accelerating content production, while noting its limitations in emotional nuance, strategic decision-making, and new customer acquisition.
E-Commerce & Marketplaces Why product differentiation and retention-first GTM will define D2C winners at ETRetail Summit 2026
At the ETRetail E-Commerce and Digital Natives Summit 2026, founders from ZOFF, Supertails, California Burrito, and NewMe argued that rising customer acquisition costs and diminishing returns from influencer marketing make retention-first go-to-market strategies and product differentiation critical for long-term D2C success. They emphasized building in-house creator ecosystems, evaluating influencer partnerships by engagement quality and geo-relevance, and focusing on repeat purchase behaviour over viral spikes.
Business EDNS 2026: Endurance, Not Early Growth, Will Define India’s Next D2C Winners
At the EDNS 2026 conference, founders across beauty, nutrition, fashion, wellness, and food emphasized that long-term brand survival depends on product integrity, category creation, supply chain depth, and sustained relevance beyond early growth spikes. Key leaders from Plum, Fast&Up, Kapiva, Indo Era, and Akshaykalpa Organic shared insights on building defensible moats and navigating India's crowded D2C ecosystem.