Retail brands

of promiscuous shoppers,” said Steve Dennis, president and founder of SageBerry Consulting, a retail consultancy.

Now, the pandemic is testing brand loyalty even more as shoppers, worried about going to physical stores, want quicker deliveries and curbside pickup, says Robert Passikoff, president of brand research firm Brand Keys.

Amber Atherton, CEO at Zyper, which connects brands with the top 1% of their fans and enlists them to become brand ambassadors, says shoppers have been increasingly hanging out in community groups online and the pandemic just accelerated that trend. She cites Gucci’s recent collaboration with tennis mobile game Tennis Clash, where shoppers can buy exclusive Gucci outfits within the game as well as on the company’s website.

To build shoppers loyalty, brands need to “create delightful experiences online,” Atherton said.

Emily McKenna, 22, a recent college graduate from Omaha, Nebraska, says she’s a big fan of Asos, an online-only clothing brand, because she likes the video feature that shows what the clothes look like on models.

She also likes shopping at the J. Crew outlet that’s about a 30-minute drive from her home, but she says she’s buying more online now because she doesn’t feel comfortable going into stores and she also sees more options for deals.

But McKenna does worry about the hallowing out of the middle-priced brands and what that means to shoppers who want quality but can’t afford luxury brands.

“I think it is sad that these brands are being wiped out, and in a way, it makes some of our dreams less attainable,” she said.

Juliana Gonzalez, 30, from Howard Beach, New York says she’s been a big fan for several years of the Loft, Ann Taylor’s lowerprice division. She gets most of her clothing from the chain and is worried that they will be closing more stores as a result of the bankruptcy filing.

“It’s young and hip. And the clothes fit me,” Gonzalez said.

But even before the pandemic, she only bought the clothes at 50% off. Those discounts will be easier to come by, now that Ann Taylor’s parent has declared bankruptcy.