Why Gap Saw A Sales Surge During COVID-19 Pandemic

Gap’s standard khaki pants were a hot commodity after MSNBC’s “chartthrob” Steve Kornacki was seen wearing them on national television during the presidential election.

Kornacki is an American political journalist but during election week, viewers saw him as “the map guy.” He was the one creating different scenarios with the states and updating the map as electoral votes came in.

Back in 2016, Kornacki wore the same exact pants during election week, Business Insider states.

The journalist was seen wearing these famous khaki pants from Gap, which made people want to go out and buy some for themselves, or their significant other.

A Gap spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times, “We saw a dramatic increase in online traffic and within a day, the number of Straight Fit Palomino Brown khakis we sold online went up 90%.”

Arianna Huffington, the founder of HuffPost, called the pants “Khornakis.”

These specific pants run for about $60, but with discounts and holiday codes, the pants could be cheaper than that.

While people are out buying these pants to look like Kornacki, they should also purchase his famous green and white striped tie while they’re at it.

Unfortunately, last Wednesday, he tweeted that he was going to have to retire the tie since it was only being held together by some staples. As for the pants, he stated on the air that he has plenty, so he’ll be good in that department for a while.

Gap can thank Kornacki for the reason sales skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic--making them one of the retailers who saw growth during a time where others have struggled.