Canada Post is hoping to improve the online shopping experience of Canadians from coast to coast with the national roll out of CentrSource; an online network that lets advertisers reach consumers with local deals and promotions on items including music, movies, consumer electronics and clothing.
Consumers can search from over 43,000 coupons, discounts and free trials on the network, according to their postal code on CentrSource.ca. Aside from the local search option, consumers can also search the network for offers from businesses across Canada.
Registered users can opt to receive offer alerts based on their favourite sellers, brands, categories or keywords. They can also earn reward points for sharing offers with their friends.
Canada Post looked at building the network after receiving numerous requests from its clients for a digital channel that would help expand their reach, said Tim Skelly, Canada Post’s director of product development.
While it’s easy to compare Canada Post’s network to social buying sites like Groupon, Skelly said CentrSource is more than just a deal site.
“The idea is that we could create this platform that all businesses could post offers to,” he said. “It’s not just a deal site, like shopping portals, it’s a direct marketing platform.”
Skelly said advertisers can go beyond posting a single deal by encouraging consumers to sign up for an e-newsletter, or promoting a store opening, for instance.
Though CentrSource unofficially launched in some markets in December, Canada Post is only now supporting the site with direct mail, free-standing inserts, search and e-mail advertising from DraftFCB to drive consumers online.
