• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, February 12, 2015

Editor's note: This week, Marketing Daily brings you exclusive coverage of the Brand Keys 2015 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI). Each day, expect a report on key product/services categories from among the 64 surveyed for this year’s study, including automotive, electronics, retail, technology and alcoholic beverages (beer and vodka). This fourth installment provides highlights from the apparel and retail categories.

When it comes to loyalty to their favorite apparel brands, something unusual happened in this year’s rankings: While J. Crew, a winner in years past, returned to the No. 1 spot, an impressive three new brands appeared in the top ten. The addition of Foot Locker, Anthropologie and Forever 21, says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, the New York-based brand engagement and customer loyalty research consultancy that compiles the index, “is very telling. We don’t give people a list of names to choose from. So when this many mentions come up on their own, we know that means that people are ultimately replacing brands.”

Here are the top 10 apparel retailers:

1. J. Crew

2. Old Navy

3. Victoria’s Secret

4. Banana Republic / Footlocker 

5. H&M

6. PacSun

7. Anthropologie 

8. Forever 21

9. Gap

10. Express

Another trend this year is that shoppers seem to be more interested in brands that help them cultivate their own sense of style, rather than looking like fashion cookie-cutters. “The two drivers that account for nearly of 60% of the decision-making process in this category are buzz, and 'the personal statement I can make with this merchandise,’” he says. “There’s a sense that these brands understand what people want when they think about “my stuff,” and Banana Republic, Victoria’s Secret, H&M, and Anthropologie are all strongest on that one single driver.”

Department Stores

1. Marshalls/TJ Maxx

2. Macy’s

3. Kohls

4. Dillards

5. JC Penney

6. Sears

Passikoff believes the value combination and crossbranding between Marshalls and TJMaxx are responsible for its tremendous loyalty, and that Macy’s continues to earn its customers’ love through a localized, omnichannel approach. “It comes up very high on this sense of 'This is the store for me. They have what I need, right here.’”

Discount Stores

1. Walmart

2. Target

3. Kmart

Target is doing better in terms of reputation, bouncing back from the hits it took during its large data breach last year. And Walmart, in addition to winning on value and location, is also gaining on its omnichannel offerings. “We’re seeing that shopping options are more influential on people’s loyalties, so things like order online and pickup in store are more important,” he says.

But overall, Passikoff says Walmart and Target seem to be drifting closer to each other, in a way that isn’t good for either brand. “There was a time when Target was at the top, and it really resonated with its cheap chic status. But it hasn’t been sustained. If I blindfolded you and then set you down in these places, there used to be big differences between them. Not any more. And that’s the sound of a brand turning into a commodity.”