Retailer Lands’ End recently used an SMS message that not only reminded consumers to buy a Mother’s Day gift, but also drove them to a mobile site to buy gift cards.

Lands’ End sent two different SMS messages over the past two weeks that encouraged users to shop for Mother’s Day gifts from the company’s mobile site. The text messages were sent on April 25 and May 9.

“Using a season-themed deal like Mother’s Day has two benefits,” said Doug Stovall, senior vice president of sales and client services at Hipcricket, Kirkland, WA.

“First, it provides an excellent reason for brands to reach out to their loyalty clubs and stay top of mind for holiday shopping. Second, it provides an immediate and time-sensitive offer that promotes purchase,” he said.

“Mobile is the perfect medium for customer-relationship management and time-sensitive offers, making it a great fit.”

Mr. Stovall is not affiliated with Lands’ End. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Lands’ End did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile holiday
Lands’ End actively uses its SMS program to push season and holiday specific offers to consumers.

In the first SMS message that the retailer sent, the copy read, “Mother your Mom on May 13!”

The message included a link to the Lands’ End mobile site. When users tap on the link, they are taken to a filtered page that only includes women’s items that are sorted by recommended products.

Additionally, users can type in keywords or item numbers if they are looking for something specific.

Lands’ End second Mother’s Day-related SMS message encouraged last-minute shoppers to buy either a virtual or physical gift card with copy that read, “An E-giftcard! Of course! Still time to delight mom.”

The message again also included a link to the Lands’ End mobile site where users could buy either a digital or physical gift card.

To send an electronic gift card, users fill out a quick contact form. The page also explains that most digital gift cards are received via email within two hours, which helps shoppers who are in a pinch for time and want to send a gift quickly.

The SMS messages

Time-sensitive offers
In addition to sending out time-sensitive messages, Lands’ End also thought about a consumer’s shopping behavior with this campaign.

The first SMS message promoted the company’s line of products for consumers who started Mother’s Day shopping early, and the second message was targeted towards users looking for a last-minute gift ideas.

Therefore, Lands’ End was able to segment two groups of shoppers within its SMS database.

Additionally, the messages were spaced out to not make consumers feel as if were being bombarded by spam.

This is not the first mobile initiative from Lands’ End.

Last year, the retailer launched a commerce-enabled shopping iPad app and promoted its SMS program to drive loyalty (see story).

“The immediacy and push nature of SMS are extremely useful in marketing, however branding and rich content capabilities are limited,” Mr. Stovall said.

“By using SMS to push consumers to the mobile Web, marketers are able to provide the best of both worlds with immediacy and a rich user experience,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York