"We believe the most successful D2C brands are ones that offer the most disruption vs. the status quo," says one report.

Does opening more stores -- which usually means sinking considerable cash into pricey rents, long-term leases and inventory -- make financial sense?

And yes, they've noticed those radically outsized budgets make profits (ostensibly, the reason companies are in business) kind of impossible.

Natura & Co, a Brazilian beauty company, is acquiring Avon -- which got me thinking about why direct sales matter more than ever.

As company looks to move to its next level of growth, it is following the D2C trend toward mainstream advertising.

Established brands -- especially luxury ones -- no longer shy away from ideas that could potentially cannibalize sales of new clothing.

Thanks to a flurry of expensive ad buys, old-school TV viewers haven't been able to escape the D2C onslaught led by brands like Peloton, Casper and Noom.

Consider Postwell, which sends gift boxes to women who've just given birth, filled with products like nursing pads and heavy-duty sanitary products.

D2C success is perhaps less about products and business models, and more about a fundamentally different consumer.

"We want to know how customers behave differently in stores, and what we can learn in real life," says D2C brand Hungryroot.