Tim Hortons, HBC and Canadian Tire go digital

Every Monday, CommerceLab brings you a roundup of all the gamification, user experience and interactive display news that’s fit to print. (Or the stuff we liked best, anyway.)

Good news for young entrepreneurs in Ontario this week, as MARS’ recently launched Studio Y unveiled its first group of participants. The nine-month program teaches people aged 18-29 leadership, entrepreneurial and social media skills to help them become leaders in whatever fields they end up pursuing, with specific emphasis on technology and innovation.

Hot on the heels of its 30 under 30 list (which we linked to last week), Forbes has another list that’s sure to be influential: the 10 hottest startup incubators in action right now. They’re all U.S.-based, but it’s an interesting roundup nonetheless.

Tim Hortons is already a leader in digital signage, but they’re going even farther with the impending launch of TimsTV—a service that is more or less exactly what it sounds like. They’ll stream news and weather aggregated from CBC and other media partners, with the goal of keeping customers engaged while in Tims stores.

In other Canadian retailing news, Hudson’s Bay announced it will be the first store north of the border to use True Fit, an online technology that helps shoppers virtually try on clothing before they buy it (thereby eliminating the ship-and-return process that impedes online shopping).

Is Winnipeg the next Waterloo? If Canadian Tire has anything to do with it, the Peg is set to become Canada’s next technology hub. The company has just invested $50 million to set up their brand new cloud computing centre there—and fully expects other companies to follow suit.

Plus, from the unsolicited advice department, four useful ways to gamify your brand.