Hudson’s Bay describes itself as Canada’s iconic department store and is perhaps comparable to Nordstrom or Macy’s in the U.S. It is the main brand of Hudson’s Bay Company which is North America’s oldest company. Their online store thebay.com attracts between 2 and 3 million visitors each month.
Hudson's Bay
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Product Line
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Website
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Loyalty Program
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Shipping
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Customer Service and Returns
Summary
Despite not fulfilling SHS’s best practice in terms of shipping and returns, and a less-than-generous rewards program, thebay.com remains the premier online shopping store for Canadians. In the end, the quality and range of their products makes the bay.com an absolute must-visit for any savvy stay at home shopper from Canada.
Product Line
Hudson’ Bay focuses mainly on fashion apparel, accessories and home goods, with prices and quality in the mid to high range. They also have an assortment of everyday low-price merchandise.
In 2011 Hudson’ Bay earned the exclusive Canadian franchise rights for the UK-based fashion “phenomenon” Topman and Topshop.
Website
Hudson’s Bay website is TheBay.com
You can search by product type, brand, collection and sale.
Product pages have photo zoom, sizing info, shipping info and customer care details.
The website was extremely light on for customer reviews. Stayhomeshopping was not able to find a single review on the first ten random products we looked at.
Rewards
HBC Rewards is the rewards program for Hudson’s Bay. At the basic or starting level, members receive 1point/dollar spent. The earning rate increases to 1.5 and then 2 points per dollar as you progress through the membership tiers. Points are doubled if you use an HBC branded credit card.
2000 points can be redeemed for a $10 voucher. This represents a rather measly 0.5% cash back rate. Even at the very top tier (VIP) and using a HBC credit card, the effective cash back is only 2%.
To reach the top tier, you need to spend $1200 in a calendar year. On January 1st each year, all memberships are reset to the base tier so it means you need to qualify again to make it to VIP level.
Points can also be exchanged for Air Miles and Esso Extra Points.
This is amongst the least generous rewards program that we have reviewed.
Shipping
Standard ground shipping rates depend on the size of your order, starting at $5.95 for orders of $50 or less. Free shipping is offered for orders of a rather high $99 or more (before taxes). Additional charges apply for faster delivery and/or remote locations.
Free shipping kicks in for HBC credit card holders at $45 or $29 for cosmetics and fragrances.
International shipping (including to the USA) is not offered.
Customer Service and Returns
The following is the official returns policy:
If for any reason you find yourself unsatisfied with your purchase, thebay.com provides its customers with Easy Returns. With Easy Returns, items purchased online can be returned to any Bay store or shipped back to our warehouse, provided the merchandise is in its original packaging and proof of purchase is presented.
Customers generally have 30 days to return goods (14 days for furniture, mattresses, major appliances) . HBC credit card holders can make returns up to 90 days.
Goods can be returned to any Bay store or via post. Return shipping is at the customer’s expense except where the return is due to an error by the bay.com or the goods are damaged.
Visit here for the the best deals at Hudson’s Bay.
I wish I’m a Canadian 🙂 Hudson’s Bay really doesn’t have generous rewards program, but other things like prices and the quality of products are great.
I think that’s so lame that they don’t deliver to the U.S or any other countries. They would have a lot more buyers, especially since they have a lot of in stock items other stores don’t have.
I didn’t notice anything about shipping overseas, does it mean they don’t ship overseas? like the UK for instance.
Unfortunately Hudsons Bay don’t ship internationally – only to Canada.
https://www.thebay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/thebay/content-view/FAQ
Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate.
I live on the U.S./Canadian border and I’ve heard radio ads for the Bay. I didn’t realize it was that large of an outfit. I am surprised at their lack of rewards and their shipping rates. I can’t help but wonder how they are competing with Amazon’s shipping and pricing. It seems like some companies are big enough they are unwilling to change their business model. It reminds me of Barnes and Noble which sells a discount card for people looking for big savings. That seems outdated, but they’re still doing it.