Hunting gear retailer Cabela’s revealed plans last week to roll out two-click mobile checkout and focus on personalization to up the number of smartphone and tablet conversions.

During Cabela’s fourth-quarter 2013 earnings call on Thursday, Thomas L. Millner, CEO, president and director of Cabela’s, Sidney, NE, spoke about what is coming next for the lifestyle retailer with mobile this year. The upcoming plans build on investments that Cabela’s began rolling out last year.

“Personalization is a really big deal on mobile devices,” Mr. Millner said.

“We’ve got that yet to come later this year and also two-click checkout, which just makes it even easier, and that’s coming later in the year,” he said.

Hunting for mobile?
Cabela’s began building up its mobile initiatives last year with mobile Web as a top priority (see story).

The new mobile site launched on Nov. 1 and focused on playing up Cabela’s omnichannel approach with features including click-to-call, social media and on-device commerce features.

Additionally, the mobile site lets consumers read ratings and reviews on individual products.

During the earnings call, Mr. Millner said that this new mobile site is helping bring the retailer’s omnichannel fulfillment goals full circle.

“What we’ve done has made a big difference as consumers are moving off their desktops and onto mobile devices to transact,” Mr. Millner said during the call.

The Cabela’s executive also credited new store-to-door functions as technology that is driving sales for the business.

Now that the brand’s mobile site has been live for a few months, the next step for the retailer will be tailoring relevant content to shoppers and cutting down on the number of steps that it takes for a consumer to checkout.

Cabela’s total revenue for the fourth-quarter of 2013 hit $1.2 billion and total net income for 2013 reached $283.3 million.

Increasing mobile conversions?
Cabela’s also has a commerce-enabled app for iPhone and Android devices and began stepping up its marketing and advertising efforts last year.

Cabela’s rolled out its first marketing campaign — “It’s In Your Nature” — last year with a media buy for apps including Scramble with Friends (see story).

As retailers increasingly roll out more sophisticated mobile sites and apps, express checkout is one way that traditional retailers are looking to more actively compete with online threats such as Amazon.

Beyond the Rack, Rue La La and Crate & Barrel are all brands that stepped up mobile sites and apps last year to make it easier for consumers to checkout from smartphones and tablets.

In fact, a report from the e-tailing group last year found that the number of retailers offering express checkout grew from 25 percent to 40 percent year-over-year.

“I think it’s huge because mobile is all about shoppers in a hurry,” said Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing group, Chicago.

“The checkout is the area that requires the greatest amount of time and where the mistakes are most often made,” she said. “Bottom line: The quicker the better.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York