Discovery: Where Shoppers Find New Brands
Most shoppers use about three channels at once. But being seen on a channel is not the same as being remembered there. The chart below shows what share of shoppers who use each channel could name a D2C brand unprompted.
Ads work for memory, not just for clicks. Shoppers who find brands through ads are 3.5x more likely to remember a D2C brand than shoppers who don't.
Social media is where shoppers check a brand, not where they remember it. Social media users barely differ on recall (41% vs 35%). But 85% of them need reviews before they buy, against 57% of other shoppers.
"Found it on the brand's website" means returning, not discovering. Only 1 in 12 of these shoppers remembers any D2C brand, and 42% of them are shopping mainly on price.
Shoppers who use 4 or more channels are the best customers. 88% are keen to try new brands (against 58%), they spend a median of ₹1,500 per order (against ₹1,000), and they name twice as many brands.
Recall: Which Brands Shoppers Remember
Asked to name their favourite online brands, with no list shown, shoppers named 61 different brands.
2 each: Dot & Key, Be Bodywise, Plum, Zivame, boAt, Roadster, HRX, Adidas, Puma, Zudio, Levi's, Shein
Online-first D2C brands named included Snitch, The Derma Co, Dot & Key, Be Bodywise, Plum, Zivame, boAt, Minimalist, Foxtale, Deconstruct, Pilgrim, Dr. Sheth's, Mars, Bluorng, Bannana Club, Gully Labs, The Souled Store, Rare Rabbit, Yogabar and Lenskart. Apart from Snitch and The Derma Co, no D2C brand was named more than twice. The two most-remembered brands are both global fast-fashion labels.
The marketplace takes the credit. 36% of shoppers (18/50) named a marketplace when asked for a brand, and 18% (9/50) could name only marketplaces. The shopper was happy with the purchase, but the marketplace got the memory, not the brand.
“I bought t-shirts from a marketplace, and I don't know the brand's name, but I remember one company, Austivo. It was good.”
In beauty, D2C brands dominate what shoppers remember. In fashion, global labels do. Beauty buyers remember a specific ingredient or benefit that only one brand offers. Fashion buyers remember design and fabric, and they give the credit for those to the labels they already know.
“The products have new or unique benefits. If they are personal care products, they have unique ingredients which would benefit my skin, and no other mainline brand would use that ingredient at that time. Then for clothing or fashion, the brands have a unique design or a unique fabric material at a reasonable cost.”
Brands are forgotten within weeks. 50% of shoppers who bought in the past month named a D2C brand. Among shoppers whose last purchase was earlier, only 20% did.
Quality is why a brand becomes a favourite. 36% gave quality as the reason; only one shopper mentioned a brand story.
“Because the website has a great UI, and the customer experience is also top notch, and they are focusing on what the customer needs.”
Trial: Why Shoppers Try a New Brand
68% of shoppers rate themselves 4 or 5 out of 5 on willingness to try a new brand, so getting a first order is not the hard part. The reason a shopper tries a brand predicts whether they come back.
Discounts win the first order, not the customer. Price-led shoppers are just as willing to try (75%), but they rarely come back. They also spend less (median ₹800 against ₹1,000) and remember fewer brands.
Design-led shoppers are the most valuable. They buy more often and remember almost twice as many brands. 62% of them check for a founder story before buying, against 19% of other shoppers.
Brand story is not why shoppers try a brand, but it is something they check. Only 6% try a brand because of its story, but 30% look for a founder story or company information before paying. Put the story on the product page, not in the ad.
Recommendations tend to spread brands that are already known. Only 11% of recommendation-led shoppers (1/9) named any D2C brand. 67% of them treat a brand's social media presence as a stand-in for a friend's recommendation.
Food is the easiest first purchase. 48% of shoppers who bought food from a new brand buy new brands often, against 20% of those who didn't. Shoppers who bought in 3 or more categories are the most willing to try new brands (83%).
“A good and useful product that I need, or one that solves a problem of mine, or if it just looks nice and I like it.”
Trust: What Makes a Shopper Buy From an Unknown Brand
Each worry points to its own fix. 83% of shoppers worried about missing reviews say reviews would earn their trust. 80% of shoppers worried about unclear returns say a clear return policy would. Read the left column as a to-do list for your product page.
Shoppers with the most worries are the easiest to convert. Shoppers with 4 or more worries are more willing to try a new brand (79% against 64%) and nearly twice as likely to remember a D2C brand (57% against 31%). They have bought enough to know what can go wrong. Once the brand answers every worry, they buy.
Quality worries don't stop the first order; they slow the next ones. Only 19% of shoppers who worry about quality buy often, against 50% of those who don't. They look for a money-back guarantee (46% against 25%).
Badges barely count. Certifications are the least-chosen trust signal (14%).
Cash on delivery was raised without prompting. It was not on the list, and one shopper called it the most important signal of all.
“You forgot to mention cash on delivery, or payment after delivery, which is the most important thing when purchasing a product from a new and unknown brand. Apart from that, transparent company information helps to build trust.”
“Customer reviews give an assurance that I'm not getting fooled or looted.”
“The reviews for the product, or the photos uploaded: the online reviews and the photos of what customers purchased.”
How Segments Differ
Subgroups are small, so read these as signals rather than hard numbers.
| Share who… | Women (14) | Men (36) | Working (11) | Students (39) | Under ₹3L (29) | ₹3L+ (21) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willing to try (4–5 of 5) | 36% | 81% | 82% | 64% | 69% | 67% |
| Buy new brands often | 36% | 33% | 45% | 31% | 34% | 33% |
| Name a D2C brand unprompted | 29% | 42% | 64% | 31% | 38% | 38% |
| Need reviews to trust | 93% | 64% | 64% | 74% | 72% | 71% |
| Need founder / company info | 43% | 25% | 36% | 28% | 31% | 29% |
| Need money-back guarantee | 36% | 36% | 9% | 44% | 34% | 38% |
| Need social media presence | 36% | 36% | 45% | 33% | 21% | 57% |
| Worry about payment security | 43% | 31% | 55% | 28% | 38% | 29% |
| Worry about quality | 43% | 56% | 27% | 59% | 48% | 57% |
| Discover through ads | 50% | 42% | 73% | 36% | 45% | 43% |
| Main reason to try | Design | Price | Price | Price | Design | Price |
Women say they are less willing to try, but buy just as often as men. They need more proof before buying: 93% need reviews. Of the brands women named, 58% were D2C brands, mostly in beauty and intimate wear.
Working shoppers are reached by ads and remember D2C brands. They worry about payment safety, not quality, and almost none need a money-back guarantee. Students are the opposite: they worry about quality and rely on guarantees.
Higher income does not mean higher spend per order. Median spend is ₹900 for ₹3L+ shoppers and ₹1,000 for under-₹3L shoppers. Higher-income shoppers are more likely to try a brand for its price, and nearly 3x as likely to require a visible social media presence.
Age predicts spend better than income. Shoppers aged 25+ spend a median of ₹4,500 per order, against ₹1,000 for 18–24s (only 8 shoppers aged 25+).
Knowing the competition makes shoppers more likely to switch. 90% of shoppers who know many competing brands are keen to try new ones, against 53% of the rest.
The Founder Playbook
Pick a category where D2C can own memory: or an ingredient or benefit only you offer. Beauty: 87% of brands named are D2C; fashion: 29%.
Make every trust signal visible before spending on reach: reviews, return policy, guarantee and founder info.
Collect reviews with customer photos: from the very first order.
Offer cash on delivery: to first-time buyers.
Put the founder story on product and about pages: 30% check for it before paying.
Launching on discounts: price-led triers rarely return (12% vs 44%).
Certifications and badges: the least-chosen trust signal (14%).
Counting on your own website for discovery: only 8% of "website" discoverers recall a D2C brand.
Treating Instagram as the growth engine: shoppers check you there; they don't remember you from it.
Leading ads with the brand story: only 6% try a brand because of it.
Ads as a way to be remembered: 64% vs 18% recall. Landing pages must show return policy and founder info.
Getting your brand into every marketplace order: packaging, inserts, a clear product name. 18% remember only the marketplace.
Re-engaging customers within weeks: recall drops from 50% to 20% after a month.
Adding a low-risk, repeat-purchase category: food buyers buy new brands 2.4x as often.
Tailoring trust messages by segment: payment safety for working shoppers, guarantees for students, reviews for women, social presence for higher-income shoppers.
Cutting order value to push frequency: frequent buyers already spend the most.
Pricing by assumed income: income did not predict spend; age did.
Waiting for word of mouth on its own: it spreads brands people already know. Seed it with reviews, creators and referrals.
Writing off shoppers who list many worries: they convert best once every worry is answered.
About SpillBill Insights
SpillBill Insights conducts primary consumer research on the behaviours, motivations and unmet needs behind consumer decisions. This report reflects fieldwork completed in September 2026. Every finding describes a relationship observed within this sample, not a proven cause, and subgroup findings are directional.