As consumers discover products elsewhere, brands redefine the purpose of owned websites

For years, brand websites served as the digital storefront where consumers explored products, compared options and completed purchases. But that role is increasingly being challenged.

Today, consumers are discovering products on Instagram, YouTube and creator content, buying through marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart, placing grocery and beauty orders via Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, and increasingly turning to AI assistants for recommendations. In many cases, they complete the entire purchase journey without ever visiting a brand's website.

As shopping journeys become fragmented across multiple digital touchpoints, brands are beginning to reassess the purpose of their owned websites. Rather than functioning primarily as transaction platforms, websites are increasingly emerging as destinations for credibility, product education, storytelling, community building and first-party customer relationships.

Industry experts say the shift also reflects the growing influence of social commerce, which is evolving beyond direct selling into a broader discovery engine. Consumers may first encounter products through creators, short-form videos or AI-generated recommendations before purchasing them elsewhere.

Hemant Jain, Joint Managing Director, Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL), said consumer discovery now spans social media, marketplaces, quick commerce and AI, prompting the company's website to evolve from a transaction platform into its most authentic brand destination.

He said, “Rather than competing with other channels, the website complements them by serving as the central hub where consumers can explore our collections, learn more about the brand story and engage more deeply with the brand.”

Jain added that the website helps consumers better understand the brand, its values and what sets it apart, while connecting discovery, engagement and purchase and strengthening direct customer relationships.

Anupam Bansal, Executive Director, Liberty Shoes Limited, echoed the sentiment, saying that for the 75-year-old brand, the shift has been a deliberate evolution rather than a reaction. With discovery and transactions moving to specialised platforms, he said Liberty sees little value in competing with them on their own turf.

“What we have chosen to protect and build on our own platform is something no marketplace can offer us: complete ownership of how the brand is presented, across our entire portfolio, to a consumer who wants to go deeper than a single listing,” said Bansal.

While marketplaces and social platforms have reshaped where consumers transact, the emergence of AI-powered discovery is adding another layer to this transformation.

The rise of AI-powered search is adding another dimension to this transformation. Instead of browsing multiple websites, users are increasingly asking AI assistants to compare products, recommend brands or summarise reviews, reducing direct website traffic for many categories.

Experts note that this makes structured product information, rich content and accurate data on brand websites more important than ever, even if the final transaction takes place elsewhere.

Quick commerce has further accelerated the shift, particularly for FMCG, beauty, personal care and household brands. Consumers seeking convenience often search directly within delivery apps rather than visiting a brand's website first.

Similarly, marketplaces continue to dominate high-intent product searches across electronics, fashion and home categories, while social platforms influence discovery through creator-led content and recommendations.

This has prompted marketers to rethink investments across owned and third-party channels. Rather than measuring website success solely through conversions, brands are increasingly evaluating engagement metrics such as time spent, product exploration, newsletter sign-ups, loyalty participation and content consumption.

Several brands say this shift is already influencing how they define the purpose of their owned digital platforms.

A BRND.ME (makers of brands like MyFitness, Majestic Pure, Botanic Hearth and PartyPropz) spokesperson said, “At MyFitness, every channel has a distinct role. As one of India's largest peanut butter brands, marketplaces and quick commerce drive a significant share of our transactions, while social media and, increasingly, AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude are becoming important discovery channels.”

The spokesperson said the company's website and app have evolved beyond commerce into platforms for product discovery, content, subscriptions and loyalty programmes, helping deepen consumer engagement and generate direct customer insights. The spokesperson added that owned platforms remain central to building trust, strengthening brand relationships and driving long-term growth.

Industry experts believe this evolution extends beyond individual brands and reflects a broader shift in how websites support the entire digital commerce ecosystem.

Senthil Kumar Hariram, Founder and Managing Director, FTA Global, said brand websites are evolving from transaction points into the foundational source of truth that powers discovery across AI assistants, search engines, marketplaces and social platforms. He added that brands are increasingly investing in AI-readable, content-rich and technically robust websites to ensure accurate representation across digital touchpoints.

A hub for storytelling?

As websites become less transaction-led, brands are also rethinking the experiences they offer on their owned platforms.

Some brands are using their websites to offer experiences unavailable elsewhere, including exclusive product launches, personalisation tools, educational content, sustainability information, warranty registration and membership programmes.

This evolution also mirrors a broader shift in social commerce itself. Rather than focusing only on completing transactions within social platforms, marketers are increasingly viewing social media as the starting point of product discovery. The purchase may ultimately happen on a marketplace, quick commerce app or even offline, but discovery is increasingly being driven by creators, communities and AI-powered recommendations.

Hariram believes this changing consumer behaviour is fundamentally reshaping where websites create value.

Hariram said, “As more and more consumers select an online venue for making a transaction with the least amount of friction (a place like a marketplace, a quick-commerce platform, or an interface using artificial intelligence), websites representing brands will receive their competitive advantages in other areas.”

Hariram added that in the AI era, a website's value will increasingly lie in building trust, establishing credibility and providing authoritative information rather than driving direct transactions. He noted that websites will remain central to AI-driven discovery by serving as the primary source of content that powers recommendations, while also helping consumers validate claims, understand brand values and research products before making a purchase.

For legacy brands such as KKCL, that shift is already influencing how they balance commerce with brand-building.

Jain added that while the website remains an important sales channel, its role has expanded beyond transactions to include product discovery, detailed information and deeper brand engagement. He said it is increasingly becoming a destination for trust and helping consumers better understand the company's brands and values.

“As retail becomes more omnichannel, owning a direct consumer touchpoint remains strategically important, allowing us to deliver a more consistent brand experience while building stronger, long-term customer relationships,” he said.

Liberty Shoes sees the same evolution playing out in its D2C strategy.

Bansal said Liberty Shoes continues to invest in D2C for direct consumer relationships and first-party data, even though the company expects most of its future sales volume to come through third-party channels.

“Its greater value to the business today is as the trust layer of the brand, the place a consumer arrives at, from a marketplace or a social feed, to satisfy themselves they're dealing with an authentic, credible brand before they commit to a purchase anywhere,” he concluded.

As discovery continues to shift across AI assistants, social platforms, marketplaces and quick commerce apps, marketers are redefining the role of owned websites, not as the primary destination for every purchase, but as the digital foundation that builds trust, informs consumers and reinforces the brand wherever the transaction ultimately takes place.