Retailers will be making mobile a bigger part of their overall marketing outreach this Father?s Day as they experiment with new tactics and look to mobile to help drive in-store traffic and sales.

Mobile retail services such as Foursquare, QR codes, mobile apps and Groupon were all still relatively new last Father?s Day. This year, however, savvy retailers are embracing these and other channels such as mobile commerce and SMS to help drive incremental sales.

?Mobile is a strategic new retail channel on its own that drives significant revenue and brand value, but it can also help all channel sales for Father?s Day,? said Dan Lowden, vice president of marketing at Digby, Austin, TX.

?Retailers who embrace mobile strategically have the opportunity to engage with consumers at a more personal level, resulting in incremental sales, increased brand loyalty and measureable analytics that help retailers learn more about their customers shopping habits,? he said.

Many retailers are promoting special offers for Father?s Day via mobile.

Brooks Brothers, for example, has a special category on its mobile Web site for Father?s Day.

Northern Tool is heavily promoting Father?s Day on its main mobile Web page and offering a specific Father?s Day gifts product category.

Wireless Zone is betting on mobile social media.

?Last year there was a very small percentage of our stores that even knew about the social media technology available to them, but this year, a lot of them are engaged in Foursquare and Groupon,? said Bonnie Sharon, social media director for Wireless Zone, Middletown, CT.

?We?re not marketing to the dads, but to the moms and a lot of moms are on mobile and using it to engage with mobile social media,? she said.

Here are other ways retailers can use mobile for Father?s Day

Mobile apps
With the growth of mobile apps over the past year, one strategy for retailers this Father?s Day is to use outbound marketing via branded mobile apps to drive sales in-store.

?A retailer can incorporate QR codes in catalogs so consumers can scan the code with the retailer?s rich app on their smartphone and automatically be brought to the exact product page to buy it,? Digby's Mr. Lowden said.

Consumers can also use the app to check-in when they are in the store, receive promotional offers, scan product bar codes to do product research and see product video demonstrations.

?All of these capabilities can be leveraged through outbound marketing campaigns that dads or families shopping for Dad see and will want to act on immediately through the convenience of their smartphone,? Mr. Lowden said.

SMS
Mobile offers for Father?s Day delivered via SMS text messaging is another tactic at retailers? disposal.

SMS programs can be used as a springboard to loyalty programs rather than as a simple one-off coupon or discount, per Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of Hipcricket, Kirkland, WA.

?Through CRM, brands are using mobile to bring the most relevant information and offer possible,? he said. ?The opt-in nature of SMS marketing builds in trust between the consumer and brands ? and marketers will be rewarded by sending only compelling, relevant content to consumers.?

For example, a department store can look at a customer?s buying habits, information from the consumer and coupon usage to make the right offer on new suits or casual attire.

?We look at SMS as the base of the mobile marketing pyramid ? it provides tremendous reach and significant results and is a building block for richer experiences via mobile apps, Web sites and more,? Mr. Hasen said.

Mobile Web sites
As smartphone adoption continues to grow, retailers should be looking to make mobile commerce a part of their special occasion marketing programs. 

?You will see a lot more sophisticated mobile commerce sites for Father?s Day this year,? said Tina Chilip, marketing communications manager at Usablenet, New York.

Retailers risk losing potential sales if consumers come to a site expecting mobile commerce and do not find it, Ms. Chilip said.

It is not only necessary that retailers have a mobile optimized Web site, but they also need to provide consumers easy access to these sites so if someone wants to buy a last-minute Father?s Day gift, the site is right at their fingertips.

This means making sure mobile users click through to a mobile-optimized Web site when they click on a link in an email or a promotional banner as well as when they scan QR codes.

?Consumers want to interact with a brand when it is convenient to them, whether it is online or on a mobile device,? Ms. Chilip said.

?For special occasions like Father?s Day, you want to be able to give consumers accessibility from every channel available to them,? she said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer