Halara’s new loyalty program turns customers into product testers

“The customer is such an integral part of what we make and why,” Jessica Thompson, Halara’s global brand president, said in an interview. “Our product is not created in a boardroom. We’ve always taken customer feedback into account, so this is a way to allow customers to participate on a larger scale.” 

The Halara Circle builds on the brand’s long-standing strategy of using customer feedback to guide product development — an approach that helped Halara’s Active Dress garner more than 5 billion views across social media, according to the company. Halara’s Active Dress has been continuously updated based on direct input from shoppers, leading to changes like a size-inclusive range, added bust support, deeper pockets, backless designs, and specialized features like pet hair-resistant fabric and leak protection. Most recently, Halara introduced built-in cups, with more upgrades on the way.

The Halara Circle formalizes this feedback loop by turning customer input into a structured incentive model. More than 30,000 customers have participated since the program’s soft launch last fall.

How the Halara Circle works

Participants are generally selected from customers who have purchased from Halara’s website, app or TikTok Shop. Influencers can also share exclusive codes with their followers, allowing them to join the program even if they haven’t purchased from Halara before. Each month’s selection includes a curated group of products, usually two to seven items in a variety of colors and sizes.

While many of the items are pre-existing styles, Thompson said the goal is to collect more nuanced input based on customer feedback. To help analyze that input, Halara focuses on what Thompson calls “the three Fs”: fit, functionality and fabric. That includes everything from adjusting garment length or pocket size, to refining fabric for better sweat-wicking, softness or stretch. Recent updates include expanding the pocket on Halara’s leggings to fit the newest iPhone based, Thompson said. 

Transparency is a key part of the Halara Circle experience. After each round of product testing, Halara compiles and shares a summary report with participants outlining key takeaways and how the brand plans to act on them. After Halara releases the updated product, the team ties the changes back to the original customer input to show participants how their feedback directly shaped the final design.

Halara has leaned heavily into customer feedback loops to refine products in real time. Its first physical pop-up store in New York last year was as much an incubator for consumer trends as it was a showroom, with in-person try-ons offering another stream of customer insight. “We don’t need additional help to sell products,” then-global brand president Gabby Hirata said in a previous interview. “We need physical space for people to give us feedback.”

Now, the Halara Circle is heading to those physical spaces, too. Halara plans to incorporate the Circle into upcoming pop-ups in Los Angeles and the Bay Area this spring, with more to follow throughout the year. “We’re going to bring it offline and include it in some of our real-life events so customers can test products on the spot,” Thompson said. Some events Halara has hosted in the past include yoga classes and “hot girl walks.”

Engaging beyond discounts

Industry experts say this type of interactive loyalty model could be particularly appealing to Gen Z, who are more inclined to view brands as collaborators than just sellers. “Gen-Z customers are used to engaging online, sharing opinions and being heard,” said Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner. “Giving them the chance to co-create taps directly into that mindset.”

Still, Jashinsky warned that brands need to strike a careful balance in designing loyalty programs. “If you overly reward your most loyal customers, who were already likely to buy, you risk giving away product without shifting behavior,” he said. “The real opportunity lies in nudging occasional customers to deepen their relationship with the brand.”

While 97% of U.S. consumers say they care most about transactional perks like discounts or points, more than half — especially Gen Z — also value experiential rewards, such as early product access or exclusive events, according to a March survey of consumers by Gartner. Programs like the Halara Circle tap into a growing appetite among customers for deeper brand engagement. 

Thompson said Halara as an additional points-based loyalty program that remains active but operates separately from the Circle.

The brand is also exploring how to expand the Circle globally —  currently, it’s only available in the U.S. —  and use it to create ambassador opportunities for select Circle participants.