The UKNI Marking for Northern Ireland

The Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model is a business strategy where a company manufactures and ships its products directly to buyers, bypassing traditional intermediaries like wholesalers or retailers. This approach primarily leverages e-commerce platforms and digital marketing to establish a direct relationship with the end consumer, enabling greater control over branding, customer experience, and pricing structures.

A Digitally Native Vertical Brand (DNVB) is a specialized type of DTC company that originates online and controls its entire value chain. The 'vertical' aspect refers to their integration of design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. Unlike traditional brands that may adopt a DTC channel, a DNVB's primary mode of customer interaction, transaction, and brand-building is digital from its inception.

Customer-to-customer (C2C) is a business model where consumers trade directly with each other, typically facilitated by a third-party online platform. This model contrasts with business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) models. The platform provider is not the seller but an intermediary that enables the transaction, creating a market for second-hand goods, handmade items, or collectibles.

Digital trust and reputation systems are critical mechanisms that facilitate cooperation between strangers in online P2P platforms. They quantify and display the past behavior of users, typically through ratings, reviews, and endorsements. This creates a form of social collateral, reducing transaction uncertainty and risk, which is essential for the functioning of the sharing economy where traditional trust indicators are absent.