Consumer Brands & D2C

Many consumer brands and D2C businesses sell through storefronts they operate themselves. On these sites, the brand controls how products are grouped into collections, how product pages and variants are presented, and which prices, promotions and product content are shown.

This differs from a marketplace, where multiple independent sellers can offer the same product. On a brand storefront there is typically one seller, the brand itself. What each storefront publicly displays still varies from brand to brand, so every project is scoped around the selected sources.

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Brand storefront data is relevant to businesses and teams that need to understand how brands present their own products, including:

• Consumer brands reviewing their own storefronts or those of competing brands
• D2C brands studying how other direct-to-consumer businesses organize their ranges
• Brand-focused agencies working on behalf of consumer brands
• Analysts studying D2C categories
• Brands researching a new market before launching there

A brand’s own storefront is a distinct source because it reflects the brand’s own decisions: how the range is structured, which variants are offered, how products are described, and how pricing and promotions are presented in each region.

Brand storefronts are usually organized around collections, product pages and, for some brands, separate regional sites. The structure differs from brand to brand, so it shapes how a dataset is defined.

Brands typically group products into collections, categories and product ranges. Some also run seasonal collections or limited product groupings where displayed.

The category hierarchy can be shallow or deeply nested, and the same product may appear in more than one collection. Capturing that structure helps show how a brand organizes its range.

A product page usually represents one product, with variants for options such as size, colour or material. Where displayed, a page may also include variant identifiers, descriptions, displayed attributes, image and media information, size guides, and sets or bundles.

A key decision is whether records are kept at the product level or at the variant level, since availability and pricing can differ between variants.

Some brands operate separate country or regional storefronts. Where displayed, these can differ in currency, pricing, assortment, availability, product content and regional promotions.

Comparing regions usually requires consistent product codes or other matching keys across storefronts.

The data types below focus on what is specific to brand-operated storefronts. Which of them apply depends on the brand and on what its storefront publicly displays.

Catalog data describes the brand’s range as presented on its own site. It may include product titles, descriptions, categories, attributes and variants, along with product imagery information, size guides and displayed product claims.

Brand product identifiers can also be included where publicly displayed. Aggregate ratings, such as an average rating or review count, can be added where a storefront shows them.

On a brand storefront, pricing and promotions are set by the brand. Where displayed, this can include the displayed price, a compare-at or reference price, discounts, promotional banners, sitewide offers and bundles.

Recording promotions alongside prices shows how a brand presents offers across its range.

Availability data records whether products and their variants are shown as available, including size and colour availability and stock status where displayed.

Inventory quantities are not assumed unless the source publicly displays them.

Comparing a storefront over time can show new products, new variants, category changes and wider assortment changes.

Product launches and discontinuations can be identified where they are observable from public storefront changes, such as a product appearing or no longer being listed.

Brand data can come from several parts of a brand’s web presence. Relevant source types, where publicly available on the selected sources, may include:

• Brand-operated storefronts
• Regional or country storefronts
• Collection pages
• Category pages
• Product pages
• Promotional or landing pages
• Brand store sections where publicly available
• Retailer listings of the brand’s products

Not every brand website offers every source type, and storefronts can be structured quite differently from one brand to another.

Brand and D2C projects are usually built around a few recurring questions.

Mapping the products, collections, categories and variants a brand offers, and how coverage changes as products are added or removed.

Comparing selected brand storefronts across regions for product assortment, pricing, currency, availability, displayed content and promotions.

Recording the promotions a brand displays, including discounts, compare-at pricing, promotional banners, seasonal offers and bundles where displayed.

Looking at where a brand’s products appear across selected retail channels. This stays at the product level, covering assortment presence, availability by channel and displayed product pricing, rather than individual sellers or offers.

Brand and D2C projects are defined around the brand, the storefront, the region and the product structure. The main points to settle are:

• Brands in scope
• Storefronts and regions
• Full catalog or selected collections and categories
• Product-level or variant-level records
• Brand product codes and matching keys
• Required content fields
• Pricing and promotion fields
• Currency and regional requirements
• One-time or recurring collection

The right record structure depends on what the project focuses on: products, variants, collections, regional storefronts, promotions, or a combination of these.

A one-time collection captures a brand’s storefront at a single point and can support:

• Brand assortment research
• Product launch research
• Regional storefront comparison
• Catalog analysis
• Market studies

Recurring collection can be appropriate when tracking changes on brand storefronts, such as:

• Price changes
• Promotion changes
• New product launches
• Product discontinuations
• Variant availability
• Regional storefront changes
• Product content changes
• Assortment changes

Timestamped snapshots may be used so that changes can be compared over time.

Before scoping a brand or D2C project, it helps to define:

• Brands in scope
• Storefronts and regions
• Collections or categories
• Products or variants
• Required data fields
• Brand identifiers and matching keys
• Pricing and promotion requirements
• One-time or recurring collection
• Output format

Once these requirements are defined, we can review the project scope and confirm an approach.

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