Setting itself up as a travel retail leader, St Pancras International has become the first UK train station to launch a retail and consumer app – ‘StP‘.

London‘s St Pancras International, home to Eurostar, National Rail and the UK‘s only high-speed rail services, has launched a consumer focused free-to-download app, called ‘St.P‘ and developed in partnership with Paythru and Javelin Group.

StP allows retailers and customers to capitalise on new travel shopping and mCommerce trends. The exciting venture for St Pancras International will create additional ability to drive business across retail outlets operating in the station through targeted and customised promotional offers to visitors‘ smartphones. This pioneering launch will ensure both St Pancras International and its retailers can take advantage of the rapidly-expanding travel retail sector and gain a foothold in the increasingly lucrative mCommerce industry.

Retailers, including Bsix, Rituals and BHRC, which were among the first to sign up, will be able to capitalise on busy periods such as lunchtime rushes or arrivals from Europe, and engage with app-users immediately by creating real-time offers as people walk through or approach the station. The app allows for promotional offers to be customised in-store by the retailer and set to target particular consumer age brackets, genders and profiles giving retailers a real-time interactive platform and opportunity to capitalise on traditionally quiet periods. UK-based leading provider of mCommerce solutions, Paythru Limited has developed the app which applies the company‘s ‘Ignite‘ contextual marketing platform and mobile payments capabilities. Its technology, which can be white-labelled and customised to suit retailer‘s requirements, is proven to be significantly more effective than traditional promotional methods in increasing new customer traffic flow and basket sizes.

Analytics are provided to the retailers as part of the ‘St.P‘ app from Paythru‘s Ignite platform which enables both retailers and the station as a whole to better engage with customers and best utilise their space to maximise sales and improve customer experience. Javelin Group will be working with the HS1 team to deliver insights back to the retail tenants to help them target their messaging to the most receptive customer groups.

In addition to the substantial benefits for retailers, ‘StP‘ will also provide significant financial rewards for customers and save them valuable time. Customers can browse offers from their offices and homes, allowing them to plan their shopping trips in advance as well as save money. Additionally, the app has the potential to offer click and collect services between London and Paris, allowing travellers from St Pancras International to take advantage of offers in the French capital before they have even arrived. Wayfinding capabilities, real-time travel information, information regarding the history of the Victorian Grade 1 listed St Pancras building and facts about the local area are also available, allowing visitors to the station to take advantage of the full St Pancras International experience.

The ‘StP‘ app is the latest digital development at St Pancras International, which launched high-speed public Wi-Fi in June 2014, which, when fully-rolled out will have enough capacity to allow 7,000 people to stream High Definition content simultaneously.

Visitors are able to download the free app from the Apple App Store as well as the Play Store before or during their visit to the station.

Robin Bevan, Director of Locations & Analytics at Javelin Group said: “Our research with HS1 shows just how significant the role played by impulse purchasing is at St Pancras International. By letting passengers know about the great promotions and events that reflect their interests, at a time and place that is most relevant to them, means that the ‘S