Hunting, fishing and outdoor gear retailer Cabela’s Inc. has launched a commerce-enabled mobile-optimized Web site to enhance its multichannel presence and drive sales.

Cabela’s tapped mobile commerce specialist Digby to create a shopping experience letting customers buy its outdoor gear and clothing via their mobile devices. Cabela’s is enabling mobile to complement its ecommerce Web site and catalogs with the goal of driving sales of its products that are sold in more than 30 stores in the United States and Canada.

“Essentially, our initial goal in our partnership with Digby was to provide mobile devices that cannot complete checkout on our standard eccomerce Web site Cabelas.com with the ability to place an order,” said Derek Fortna, Internet marketing manager at Cabela’s, Sidney, NE.

“Digby enabled us to integrate with our standard Cabelas.com checkout while requiring very little effort from our internal IT department,” he said.

Cabela’s is a specialty retailer that claims to be the world’s largest direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor recreation merchandise.

Digby mobilizes retailers by helping them take a strategic approach to mobile commerce by delivering a unique branded experience for the mobile Web and rich Apps for today’s consumers anytime and anywhere.

The Digby mobile commerce software platform is a managed suite of applications designed for iPhone/iPod touch, BlackBerry and Android devices that designed to help retailers unify their Web, mobile, in-store and catalog channels.

Mobile a must for retailers
Cabela’s mobile lets customers search for and purchase items by visiting http://www.cabelas.com on Web-enabled mobile devices.

Features of the new mobile Web site include product photographs, complete product descriptions, customer-submitted product reviews, shop by category, shop by brand, store locator, email and a complete site search.

Cabela’s is also offering coupons and promoting sales via the mobile site.

The retailer’s decision to enable mobile commerce through Digby comes at a time when smartphone adoption and mobile Web usage are booming.

The smartphone market is expected to grow 55 percent this year alone—a greater increase than previously predicted, according to IDC.

More than 50 percent of Americans are expected to own a smartphone by the end of 2011, according to Asymco.

Cabela’s is taking the initiative to build a mobile relationship with their most loyal customers and drive sales by letting them buy outdoor equipment and gear anytime, anywhere, per Digby.

“We have not marketed our mobile Web site yet, as it is still early,” Mr. Fortna said. “Our initial intention in building this mobile Web site with Digby was to service the traffic we are already receiving from mobile devices.

“Our mobile Web site is integrated directly with Cabelas.com, providing the same payment options as found within our standard Web site checkout,” he said.

Final Take
Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures 2010 HD gameplay