A Marketer’s Dilemma
It was a crisp Tuesday morning. Sara, the Marketing Director at Precision Tools Ltd., sipped her coffee as she scrolled through the latest campaign reports. Click-through rates were up by 4.7%, and the budget efficiency looked stable. Google Analytics even showed an increase in “Where to Buy” clicks. On paper, everything looked fine.
But deep down, she knew better.
Like many manufacturers, her team was operating in the dark. Customers clicked on ads, landed on their website, and then… redirected to retailer sites with no way to track if they ever made a purchase. No data. No insights. No proof that the budget she fought so hard for was actually driving sales.
For months, Sara had pushed for an online store to bridge this gap, but the board hesitated. Selling directly to customers might alienate retailers, the very partners that had powered their distribution for decades. After endless debate, they landed on a compromise: a D2C launch with no discounts, no undercutting retailers—a cautious, low-risk move.
But was it enough?
A New Perspective
At a London digital commerce conference, Sara sat through a session that left her speechless. The speaker introduced Direct-via-Partner (DvP) — a strategy that allows brands to capture conversions, collect first-party data, and yet online orders are processed and fulfilled by their sales partners.
“Imagine this,” David, her colleague, said later, still buzzing from the presentation. “Every ad click, every visit—we’d know exactly who buys our products, where, and when. And we could retarget those customers with accessories, upgrades… It’s brilliant!”
For the first time, Sara saw a real solution. They didn’t have to choose between D2C and a wholesale/retail model. They could have both.
For years, they had accepted the black hole in their marketing strategy as an unfortunate reality. But what if they didn’t have to? What if they could finally see the entire customer journey? What if they could turn raw data into smarter decisions and higher conversions? The potential was staggering.
The Hard Truth
Back in the office, Sara fine-tuned her presentation for the board. She laid out the reality:
- Blind marketing spend — they had no way to track if ads actually drove sales.
- Lost customers — redirecting to retailers meant they could just as easily buy from a competitor.
- Zero customer data — retailers held all the insights, leaving Precision Tools Ltd. completely in the dark.
As she reviewed the numbers, her stomach tightened. Their website had 40,000 visitors per month. At a 1% conversion rate and average order value of £350, that meant £140,000 in direct sales. But if they could track retailer conversions, they could hit a 3% conversion rate — £400,000 per month.
That meant they were losing over £250,000 every single month simply because they were not capturing the full picture.
This was the brutal truth. Precision Edge Tools was running in the dark, making million-dollar decisions based on guesswork.
The D2C Illusion
For years, brands had been told that D2C was the only way forward. But as Sara was realizing, it wasn’t that simple. Many companies had jumped into direct sales without realizing the risks—damaging relationships with retailers, struggling with logistics, and ultimately failing to capture the market they hoped for.
At first, Sara’s D2C strategy had been met with enthusiasm. The three pillars seemed solid:
- Get closer to consumers.
- Deepen one-to-one connections.
- Create a seamless brand-driven buying experience.
But as economic headwinds worsened, cracks in the plan began to show.
Was the conference speaker right? Is Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) a pitfall – a costly approach for a customer insights problem? The real opportunity isn’t just selling directly. It is understanding every conversion, whether through their own online store or a retail partner.
The Partner Checkout
Sara pulled up her business case assessment and revised the numbers:
- 40,000 monthly visitors
- 3% conversion rate
- £350 average order value → £400,000 in total marketing attributable sales
This means +250,000 GBP every month by offering customers more choice at the point of purchase.
Unbelievable.
Sara took a deep breath and circled her final recommendation: Partner Checkout.
This isn’t just about eCommerce. It is about owning the customer journey, building stronger customer relationships, and unlocking a smarter, more profitable way forward without alienating sales partners.
As she stepped into the boardroom, she knew one thing: It was time to act.
