The e-commerce arm of Hudson’s Bay Co. is providing a variety of features designed to streamline omnichannel holiday shopping. TheBay.com, Hudson’s Bay Co.’s e-commerce platform, is offering a curated holiday gift guide for its Marketplace third-party sales site. The retailer is also launching a digital stylist program that enables customers to visit select Hudson’s Bay brick-and-mortar locations to meet with a stylist in person or opt for a high-touch virtual experience (still with a real person) through TheBay.com. In addition, shoppers in Hudson’s Bay physical stores can scan a product QR code to have them shipped directly to their home. Products purchased on The Bay (excluding Marketplace items) are eligible for free in-store returns, and orders placed in-store or online (excluding Marketplace) on or after Oct. 11 can be returned or exchanged until January 11, 2023 (or up to 90 days past the date of purchase, whichever comes later).
Other digital features The Bay is rolling out for holiday shoppers include pop-up One Day Sales, which offer savings across categories including kitchen, women’s fashion, jewellery, holiday décor, and outerwear. And if there is a lower advertised price at a qualifying retailer for any eligible item that Hudson’s Bay/TheBay.com has in-stock (excluding Marketplace sellers), the company will match it. In another holiday promotion, Hudson’s Bay Co. is using augmented reality (AR) to bring customers ‘inside’ the holiday window display of its downtown Toronto store. For the first time, a digital extension supported by Meta Spark technology will enable consumers to virtually ‘step inside’ the windows from anywhere across Canada. The Bay operates thebay.com featuring Marketplace, one of the largest premium digital commerce platforms in Canada, with a seamless connection to a network of 84 Hudson's Bay stores.