what's the one thing about marketing your D2C brand online that genuinely feels hardest right now

I handle content and growth for a handful of D2C brands across categories (skincare, furniture, jewellery, electronics) and I'm also bootstrapping my own small brand on the side. Every single client call in the last 6 months has hit the same wall, no matter the category or price point, and I'm trying to figure out if it's just my clients or if it's actually a 2026 thing.

So, genuinely curious. If you're running or marketing a D2C brand right now, what's the part that's hardest.

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