47 Examples of Distribution Channels

John Spacey, updated on June 13, 2023

A distribution channel is a means of reaching the customer with a product or service. This traditionally includes both a means to sell to the customer and a means to deliver your obligations to the customer. For example, a retailer is both a means to sell and to deliver products to the customer. The following are common examples of a distribution channel.

Agents and brokers	App stores - distribute mobile apps and related services
Auctions	Automated kiosks and vending machines
Business-to-business sales	Business-to-government sales
Channel sales – sales teams that sell to distributors, wholesalers and retailers	Concession stands
Conferences	Dealerships
Digital platforms for selling and providing services	Direct delivery of services e.g. cutting lawns in your neighborhood
Direct mail	Direct sales – selling directly to the customer
Distribution partners	Distributors – purchase from producers and sell to channels such as retail
Dropshipping	Ecommerce
Events	Field sales
Flagship locations	Franchisees
Importers in other nations	Inside sales – selling without leaving the office
International sales	International sales partners
Markets in virtual environments such as games	Mobile apps – a type of ecommerce
Online markets	Original equipment manufacturers – put your products inside their products
Person-to-person sales	Physical markets such as a farmers market
Pop-up shops	Referral programs
Resellers	Retail
Sales partners	Showrooms
Social media to promote and deliver services	Store-in-a-store
Subscription boxes	Subscription services
Trade shows and exhibitions	Trading companies – buy from exporters and sell to importers
Value-added resellers	Websites – a type of ecommerce
Wholesalers

Digital services can often be sold and delivered electronically through channels such as websites, mobile apps, ecommerce platforms and other types of digital platform such as a game platform.

Goods can flow through multiple distribution channels before reaching the end customer.

Personal selling involves direct communication between a salesperson and a customer. This is common in business-to-business and business-to-government.