By Justin Crann

The Bay is taking its looks into the digital space with a digital-only, Pinterest-exclusive bilingual lookbook in a bid to catch the eye of younger trend-setters.

The initiative is the first of its kind on the platform, as the retailer looks to capitalize on Pinterest’s large audience – it counts 85 million users actively engaging with home content on the platform.

The service is able to provide key insights to the retailer, including that searches for “home decor” are up 67% year-over-year on the platform. More specific data reveals a particular interest in “modern minimalist kitchen” (up 115%) and “sage green bedroom” (up 65%), allowing Hudson’s Bay to target creative to areas where demand exists.

“Because Pinners turn to Pinterest for inspiration before they start their next home renovation or next project, Pinterest is able to predict what the next big trend will be,” explains Martin Svensson, retail head of industry for Pinterest.

With the lookbook, The Bay is specifically targeting the Gen Z demographic, and users of that generation “have been fuelling growth on Pinterest,” says Svensson. This is because the audience “is at a critical life stage where they are beginning to plan for life’s biggest moments” – such as buying a home or starting a family – and they’re turning to the platform for ideas.

These are the insights that the Bay is hoping to capitalize upon as it tries to “create a seamless journey between inspiration and bringing their home decor vision to life,” says Allison Litzinger, VP of brand with the retailer.

Through the lookbook, users can browse for ideas, “pin” the products they like to build a personalized board and then follow those pins through to thebay.com to purchases items they see in the images.

“Pinterest is a trusted platform for inspiration and is able to capture Canadians who are at the beginning of their design planning, while also facilitating a seamless path to purchase,” Litzinger says.