The direct-to-consumer model was supposed to be the wave of the future in retailing as vendors went straight to the customer, bypassing traditional physical retailers.
How has that worked out? At least in the mattress business, not so much. Virtually every major player in the space has gone the physical store route, either distributing its products through existing retailers or opening its own stores. One even sold out to the very companies it was trying to disrupt.
We’re seeing this in other consumer product categories but perhaps in no other classification other than mattresses are the disrupters proving if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Here’s my take on Forbes.com:
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