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In Blow to Retailers, Pandemic Made Online Upstarts Even Stronger
The shift to e-commerce and falling ad rates during the pandemic has helped digital brands poach customers from legacy chains.
Digital brands like Tecovas, which makes cowboy boots, took more market share with the pandemic forcing shoppers online.
Source: Tecovas
Digital brands looked headed for a reckoning a year ago, with bloated valuations, rising advertising costs and ever more competition.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and gave a giant gift to brands that mainly sell directly through the web. With their brick-and-mortar competition shuttered and the virus raging, Americans flocked online and loaded up on home goods, comfy clothes and much more. And this wasn’t just 20-somethings, but pretty much everyone.