ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that consumers cope with crises in different ways. This chapter presents a review of the brand engagement literature and the results of a qualitative study adopting a phenomenological approach based on 9 in-depth online interviews conducted with women, 19 to 50 years old, in a northeastern city of Mexico. The results show consumers’ journey during the first two months of the pandemic, describing the new lifestyles generated by changes in consumption patterns. These lifestyles have changed the role and meaning of brands in their lives as well. Consumers have adopted new ways of shopping, new products, and new brands. Brand engagement strategies should be adapted to these new lifestyles as the brand consideration set, and the decision-making roles have been altered. Consumers have reorganized their priorities in life: health first, with no more concerns about fashion, learning that “less is more.”
