What is DTC (direct to consumer)?
DTC, short for direct to consumer, is a business model in which a brand sells its products straight to end customers through its own channels, such as its online store, instead of through wholesalers or retailers. It differs from wholesale, where the brand sells to a store that resells to the shopper, and from marketplace selling, where a platform owns much of the customer relationship.
DTC is also written D2C. In fashion it describes brands that design, produce and sell under their own name online, often supported by social media, newsletters and a few physical stores or pop-ups.
How DTC fashion brands work
A DTC brand takes over the jobs a retailer would otherwise do:
- Own store. The brand runs its own e-commerce site and controls pricing, presentation and checkout.
- Own customer data. Orders, returns and reviews come straight to the brand, so it can see which products, sizes and colorways sell.
- Own marketing. Traffic comes from paid social, search, email, creators and word of mouth, not from a retailer's foot traffic.
- Own logistics. Shipping, returns and customer service sit with the brand or a fulfillment partner it chooses.
Many brands mix models. A DTC brand may also sell on marketplaces or wholesale to selected stores, and a traditional wholesale label may open its own online shop. The label describes where the main relationship with the customer sits.
Why images matter more for DTC
In a store, a shopper can pick up a garment, feel the fabric and try it on. A DTC brand has to replace all of that with its product page. Images carry most of the work: they show the color, fit, length, drape and detail that a shopper would otherwise check by hand. Because there is no retailer doing the merchandising, the brand is responsible for every image on every product page, in every colorway, for every new drop.
This turns content production into a recurring cost rather than a once a season event. DTC brands that release small collections often, or test products in limited runs, need new images faster and in more variants than a brand that ships two big collections a year to wholesale buyers.
Cost and time of DTC product images
The main cost drivers for a DTC brand's photography are:
- samples, which must exist and be in the studio before anything can be shot
- studio days, photographer, model, hair and makeup and styling
- retouching per image
- the number of images per product, multiplied by colorways and by how often the range changes
A studio day suits brands that can batch many products at once. Brands that release in small drops pay for setup again and again, and new products wait for the next shoot. For a worked example of these costs, read What catalog photography actually costs a small DTC fashion brand.
DTC and AI product photography
AI image tools fit the DTC pattern because they decouple images from studio days. A brand can produce on-model images when a product is ready, not when the next shoot is booked, and can add a new colorway or a styled outfit without bringing a model back. The trade-off is quality control: every image still has to match the real product, because the product page is the brand's only promise to the shopper.
On the NotShot side: New accounts start with 50 free credits and no card is needed. Up to 8 garments can go into one render.
Related terms
- SKU: the stock unit a DTC store counts and sells
- PDP (product detail page): where a DTC sale is won or lost
- Return rate: a cost the DTC brand carries itself
- Catalog photography: the standard image set for every product
- E-commerce product photography: product images made for online stores
- AI product photography: product images created or edited with AI
- Colorway: one color version of a design
- What catalog photography actually costs a small DTC fashion brand
- NotShot vs a traditional photoshoot for a DTC catalog
Questions we get asked
- What does DTC stand for?
- DTC stands for direct to consumer. It is also written D2C. Both describe a brand that sells to its end customers without a retailer in between.
- What is the difference between DTC and B2C?
- B2C, business to consumer, covers any company selling to consumers, including retailers that sell other brands' products. DTC is narrower: the brand that makes the product sells it to the consumer itself.
- Is selling on a marketplace DTC?
- Not in the strict sense. On a marketplace the platform controls the storefront and much of the customer relationship. Many DTC brands still use marketplaces as an extra channel next to their own store.
- What is a DTC fashion brand?
- A fashion label that sells mainly through its own online store and channels. It designs and markets its own products and handles the customer experience, from product page to returns, itself.
- Why do DTC brands need so many product images?
- Without a store or a retailer, the product page is where the shopper decides. Every product, colorway and new drop needs images that show color, fit and detail clearly, and that need repeats with every release.