The Future of Bridal in a Post-Pandemic Era

Over the last several weeks, I’ve spoken with a number of bridal boutique owners across the US, as well as a few international bridal designers, about their thoughts on the future of their business, and the bridal sector in general. 

The consensus among both designers and retailers is that 1) they’ve had to ramp up their online efforts, and 2) COVID-19 significantly complicates pressures that existed prior to this pandemic: wedding gown resale and rental, a general decline in brick-and-mortar retailing, and most significantly, online competition. 

I’ve written about digitali and how wedding planning and dress shopping has become a digital-first process for brides. Back then, I argued that brands and designers needed to be where these potential customers spend their time: Pinterest, Instagram, etc. This fact rings more true today than it did then. But I’ll argue that now we need to go beyond that. In a post-pandemic shopping era, brands and boutiques will need to address the fears and intensifying digital behaviors brides are adopting. 

According to a new article by McKinsey, consumers are not only spending more time online than ever—shopping and researching brands—they indicate that these are long-term or permanent shopping behaviors. These, then, are potential customers that will now expect a shopping experience that includes, at the very least, a digital component. 

Now couture bridal shopping by its very nature is an in-person, rather personal, experience. So how do we address these new shopping behaviors? Above all, the bridal sector needs to elevate their customer experience on an off line. 

Here are a few things to consider: 

-Identify bride shopping behaviors in your area and ensure your sales strategies align with them—this can mean investing in virtual appointments, shipping gowns for at-home fittings, or a combination of both.

-If you’re a brand, consider direct to consumer sales—we’ve seen a number of top brands offer this option, Galia Lahav and Danielle Frankel come to mind.  

-Invest in digital—omni-channel options such as website catalogs or e-commerce, Google’s free Product Listings, Instagram Shops, direct messaging on Instagram and Facebook messenger bots are just a few ways you can be there for your bride.

-Map out a unique, exceptional, unified customer experience—an online to in-person customer journey—emphasis on customer experience that delights during online touchpoints, and makes the bride feel safe during in-person interactions: sanitation first, small groups in store, highly personalized experience.

There’s a whole lot more to say about digital—how it hurts business or how it helps us, especially in a post-pandemic more digitized world. The bottom line is omnichannel bridal shopping is here to stay and both brands and retailers need to evolve if they want to survive. 

The good news is digital and social media platforms are providing us with the necessary tools to transition: the new Facebook and Instagram Shops features that will soon be available to everyone around the world, the many e-commerce websites that make online selling possible, Google’s new free product listing and search features, Pinterest catalogs, etc. 

At the same time, the sheer number of businesses, coupled with social media platform algorithms, are limiting exposure of your content so that only a very small percentage of your followers get to see what you share organically. This means we have to invest in paid ads and not just rely on organic reach. 

So what does the new post-pandemic normal look like for the bridal sector? I expect brides will do less in-person shopping and more online researching and buying. Brick and mortar will not disappear, but digital will become a big part of the bridal gown shopping experience.