Cultivating brand loyalty is paramount for driving profitability in today’s competitive retail landscape. At last month’s Women in Retail Leadership Summit, a panel of industry leaders discussed how they’re leaning into brand loyalty to increase the profitability of their businesses. This clip from the session includes Jennifer Mehr, senior vice president, marketing and e-commerce, J.Crew Factory; Jennie Laar, chief commercial officer, e.l.f. Beauty; and session moderator Heather Giese, senior vice president, chief marketing officer, diversified and value and lifestyle partnerships, Synchrony.

Mehr emphasized the importance of honing in on key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand and drive loyalty. “How do you unpack loyalty?” she asked. “We know that … many marketers are leaning into their retained customer base right now. And if we can drive our customer in to make one more purchase, we are that much more profitable.”

By focusing on increasing purchase frequency through a variety of strategies — e.g., enticing credit card programs and in-store events — J.Crew Factory can leverage its existing customer relationships to boost profitability.

For Laar and e.l.f. Beauty, loyalty extends beyond transactional relationships. It’s about authentic connections with the retailer’s community. Highlighting the success of e.l.f.’s unique engagement strategies, Laar pointed out, “Tarang Amin, who’s our CEO, and Kory Marchisotto, our CMO, often get on TikTok LIVES. They interact and ask the community, ‘What do you want?’ This genuine interaction helps brands understand community needs and preferences.”

Mehr, Laar and Giese were joined on stage by Candan Erenguc, chief operating officer of Anthropologie Group, and Jamie Cygielman, general manager and president of American Girl at Mattel, during the panel conversation.