North Face aims to corral customers with geo-fencing test

Outdoor apparel and equipment retailer The North Face has rolled out a program that uses SMS text technology from Placecast to reach out to shoppers when they land within 1.5 miles of one of the chain's 31 stores. Automatic check-in messages are sent to the cell phones of customers who have opted in to the program. Merchants including American Eagle and REI have launched smaller tests of the service, but North Face is one of the first to debut a national program.