Women's retailer White House Black Market is running geo-fence marketing programs that alert opted-in shoppers of specials and store locations when they are located within specific geographic barriers set by the brand.

As Americans participated in the adrenaline-filled race known as Black Friday shopping, some used their mobile devices in ways previously unavailable during the annual shopping season. Placecast?s ShopAlerts platform powers WHBM?s location-targeted mobile promotion offering a free gift for participation.

?Our Black Friday weekend strategy is to make sure we are messaging relevant messages to our customers in the markets where we are running the Placecast program,? said Jenn McClain, director of ecommerce marketing at Chico?s FAS Inc., Fort Myers, FL. ?We want to capitalize on the shopping traffic this weekend to drive our gifting business as well as our Holiday Party and New Year?s Eve styles. 

?Our target demographic is 25-plus women who love fashion and want to feel beautiful,? she said. ?Our customers are getting flooded with emails and with promotions this week so we want to make sure we are communicating to our customer when she is close to one of our boutiques.? 

White House Black Market, a subsidiary of Chico?s FAS Inc., is an American fashion store targeting women ages 25-plus  known for its focus on white, black and other variants of the two colors.

There are 334 WHBM stores throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Placecast?s geo-fence marketing platform ShopAlerts is also used by brands such as The North Face, Sonic and American Eagle Outfitters.

In Europe, the ShopAlerts platform is currently being used by millions of O2 customers with Starbucks and L?Oreal as advertising partners.

WHBM offers location-based mobile coupons
The Placecast service that WHBM is using works on almost all mobile devices in the U.S. and runs while consumers go about their shopping day, with no application download or check-in required.

When shoppers are located in specific geo-fenced areas, they will receive text messages from brands they like such as WHBM.

The messages may be a notice of a sale, a coupon, merchandise alert or other discount.

WHBM offered offers fashion alerts to its customers.

On Black Friday, when users entered one of the geographic areas the retailer has geo-fenced around its boutiques, WHBM sent a special one-day offer of a certain percentage off their total order plus a free tote bag and shipping with a $100-plus purchase.

Here is a sample text message:

"WHBM Fashion Alerts: The perfect outfit for almost any occasion? The little black dress. Shop our favorite ones today @WHBM Downtown Chicago."

Placecast powers LBS
This was the first year that geo-fencing played a role in Black Friday, according to Placecast.

While the event is a singular phenomenon, the company expects retailers to ramp up their geo-fencing all the way through the end of the year as more consumers opt-in for such services.

"As the holiday retail season grows increasingly noisy with offers, sales, promotions and giveaways at every turn, brand and retailers who are using geo-fencing and location-targeting are able to cut directly through the clutter with highly relevant, customized messages promoting merchandise and offers that customers have opted in to hear about exactly when they need it,? said Alistair Goodman CEO of Placecast, San Francisco, CA.

?Location-based mobile messages allow retailers to reach those consumers when they?re near geo-fenced stores, in the right mindset and ready to make a purchase,? he said.

?Retailers can also use these messages to promote very specific and time-sensitive sales and offers, be they a series of one-day sales on special items or for a four-hour window on Black Friday.?

Final Take