Amazon to DTC: How to build and scale a DTC brand from scratch

Selling on Amazon has never been easier – the game is known, the tech and tools are there. But also never more crowded! Amazon to DTC means putting your brand closer to customers.

As fees go up, competition tightens, and sellers adapt to new game rules, more Amazon brands are starting to think: Can I get more out of this? Should I build something I own?

In a recent podcast episode of Ecommerce Lab, we had an amazing chat with ecommerce consultant Vincenzo Toscano about what it takes to grow beyond Amazon and build a long-term direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand.

About the Ecommerce Lab Podcast

Ecommerce Lab is a podcast hosted by Vincenzo Toscano, founder and CEO of Ecomcy, a leading Amazon brand management agency helping sellers scale profitably across global marketplaces. In each episode, Vincenzo invites experienced founders, operators, and consultants to share lessons learned.

One of those guests is Dušan Popović, founder of Byteout, a specialized ecommerce development agency that helps brands transition from marketplace-only sales to owning their own direct-to-consumer presence. Byteout is known for building high-converting Shopify stores and guiding Amazon-native sellers through the technical, strategic, and marketing shifts required to grow independently.

Watch the full episode:

Why Amazon sellers are exploring other channels

Amazon is and will stay a fantastic channel for getting sales right in. It offers instant access to buyers with high intent, built-in trust, and a simple selling process. You’re in the game if you have a decent product and competitive pricing.

But sellers are feeling the pressure:

• Rising fees cut into profit.
• Tariff regulations are creating logistical headaches.
• Chinese manufacturers are selling directly with aggressive pricing.

As Dusan put it in the episode:

“It’s getting tougher. If you want to be a real brand and make money, you can’t rely on just one platform.”

And brand-building is almost impossible within Amazon’s limits. More and more sellers are realizing that selling on Amazon is a good starting point, but a risky place to build a long-term business.

How moving from Amazon to DTC changes the game

Going DTC means launching your own online store, which offers a different kind of challenge. You don’t just plug in and list products. You’re creating a destination. A brand home. A customer experience from the ground up. 

With your own store:

• You own the customer relationship. No more blind spots. You can actually see who your customers are, understand their behaviour, and reach out to them.
• You build a brand. With Amazon, customers often remember the platform, not the seller. With your own DTC channel, your logo, story, packaging, and values can become a memory and a place to come back.
• You control the communication with customers. Instead of being at the mercy of reviews and rankings, you decide how and when to talk to your customers.
• And you get better margins. No more changes in seller fees, no constant undercutting.

As Dusan said:

“Amazon is where people go to buy. Your Shopify store is where people go to discover your brand.”

That can make a difference, especially if you want to grow something that lasts. We’re building shops that convert and last using Shopify.

When is the right time to go from Amazon to DTC?

Not every Amazon seller should go DTC on day one. If you’re still figuring out your product-market fit, struggling with profitability, or if your supply chain isn’t quite stable yet, then don’t rush into it. Jumping into DTC too early can stretch your team and budget thin without the return to show for it. Instead, make sure your foundation is solid first:

• You know which SKUs work best.
• You’ve found the pricing sweet spot.
• You know who’s buying and why.

Once you’ve got that, it’s time to test DTC. The best way might be to start small, even with just a landing page and content hub that supports your Amazon listings. You don’t need to go full ecommerce overnight. But you do need to start thinking like a brand.

Vincenzo put it best:

“Amazon is often the fastest path to cash flow. But it’s not where you build deep brand equity.”

Getting the customer the first time is expensive

One of the hardest (and most important) shifts when moving from Amazon to DTC is understanding how traffic works. On Amazon, traffic is baked in. Millions of shoppers are already there, searching for products like yours. If you’ve done a good job with your keywords, reviews, and pricing, you’ll get those expected sales because you’re part of the world’s biggest marketplace.

But when you launch your own Shopify store, you have to bring in every visitor which means focusing a lot on the marketing strategy and execution. That means using:

• Paid media (Google, Meta, TikTok)
• Retargeting
• Email campaigns
• Landing pages
• Testing (lots of it)

But as Dusan pointed out:

“It’s expensive to get that first sale. But if you do it right, that customer keeps buying from you — not from your competitors.”

If you sell a product people can buy again, or a product with upsells, bundles, or complementary SKUs, you can build serious customer lifetime value. That’s where DTC starts to outperform Amazon over time. Once they’re on your site, there’s high opportunity you’ll make them buy again.

Not all product categories are ideal for DTC

Should every seller go DTC? No. Some products just don’t translate well outside of marketplaces. But there are clear signals that a product will do well:

• Is it repeatable? Repeatable products like skincare, supplements, pet food, coffee, and cleaning products are great for DTC. Once customers trust you, they’ll come back, which means steady, predictable revenue.
• Can you tell a story around it? If there’s something meaningful behind a product, something people can connect with, it becomes much easier to build a brand around it.
• Is it visually engaging? Packaging is a big part of the customer experience. If people naturally want to share your product, it gives you free exposure, in other words, it lowers the costs of acquiring new customers.
• Can you offer bundles, exclusives, or personalization? DTC works best when a pack has more value. Bundles, starter kits, limited editions. They give people an extra reason to buy.

If the answer is yes to some of those, your product is probably well-suited for a DTC channel. If you only want to check if you’re ready for DTC, we’re there to make a free consultation about where you stand. Book a free 30-min call.

Use Amazon and your own DTC

Going DTC doesn’t mean walking away from Amazon. Some of the most successful sellers are doing both. And this kind of setup opens the door to two storefronts, which results in doubling the chances of being found.

As always, the long game wins

Amazon is a powerful channel. No doubt. But it’s not and should not be the whole business, it’s just one part of it. When brands build their own DTC channel, they are building a channel they really own. They control the data. They control the customer journey. They keep more margin.

And most importantly, they build something no marketplace can take away: a real relationship with buyers.

Yes, it’s harder. Yes, it takes time. But that’s the point: the brands that play the long game, win the long game.