The direct-to-consumer industry regards Facebook as a pillar. Without the early years of Facebook advertising arbitrage, the machine that churned out agencies, brands, and marketplaces would have been far less whelming. Consider Lawrence Ingrassia’s telling of it in his 2020 book Billion Dollar Brand Club:
A sure sign that the pandemic is over is that the ascension of two bellwether “stay-at-home” stocks are performing at pre-pandemic levels on the public market. Two tech companies, both leaders in their respective spheres, are showing just how difficult the road ahead may be. To 2PM readers, this shouldn’t be news. We published this, just this week:
As eCommerce becomes ever-present in our lives, that line of demarcation between eCommerce and our everyday lives continues to blur. There isn’t a direct-to-consumer industry any longer. Sure, some principles are influencing other industries. But what we’re beginning to see is a collection of economic realities that have shifted as the real world has begun to influence the digital economy. And vice versa.