Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor roll out beacon tech in North America

HBC Department Store Group has deployed the Swirl in-store beacon marketing platform to deliver digital experiences to consumers' smartphones while they shop in the company's department stores in Canada and the U.S.



Using beacons installed in merchandising areas throughout its stores, Hudson's Bay and Lord & Taylor will automatically deliver branded content and personalized offers to in-store shoppers through an array of company-owned and third-party mobile apps.



The HBC Department Store Group operates more than 130 Hudson's Bay and Lord & Taylor department stores across North America. The new in-store mobile experiences will be available to shoppers at select malls and free-standing Hudson's Bay stores including its 850,000-sq.-ft. Toronto flagship store, as well as Lord & Taylor stores in the U.S.



The Swirl platform leverages Bluetooth Smart and Apple's iBeacon technology to deliver targeted content and offers to consumers based on their specific location and behavior at the store.



Beacon marketing represents the latest in a series of mobile enablement capabilities that HBC has developed in an effort to meet rapidly evolving consumer behaviors.



"We recognize the appetite for mobile experiences that cater to our customers' immediate needs and preferences while also providing a seamless and effortless experience," said Michael Crotty, EVP, chief marketing officer, Hudson's Bay Company and Lord & Taylor. "Beacon technology is the future of retail marketing and Swirl's platform will assist us to make every visit to Hudson's Bay or Lord & Taylor even more rewarding for our customers."



"With this new capability, Hudson's Bay and Lord & Taylor are taking their reputation for quality and customer service to the next level," said Hilmi Ozguc, founder and CEO of Swirl. "We are proud to be working with one of North America's premier retailers to reinvent the in-store shopping experience with the latest mobile marketing technology. This multi-category, multi-floor beacon deployment represents the most ambitious application of beacon marketing in the retail industry to date."