Shopatron’s analysis of multichannel holiday shopping for its 800-plus brand clients found that mobile represented 2 percent of sales in the period from Nov. 17 to Dec. 6.

With the increase in consumer uptake of smartphones in 2011, more retail players will take to mobile, deploying product discovery tools with the hopes of driving sales.

Department store chain J. C. Penney Co. is running a mobile campaign across Apple’s iAd network to influence holiday shopping behavior by distributing mobile coupons.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. is offering three ways for consumers to shop for last-minute holiday gifts: buy in-store, online or through their mobile devices.

Mall retailer Bakers Footwear Group has launched a mobile version of its Web store in response to customer lifestyle changes and the general industry trend toward greater mobile accessibility of store assets.

Visa Inc. is targeting budget-conscious consumers via the Visa Mobile application for Apple’s iPhone with offers from merchants such as Papa John’s, Holiday Inn, Meineke, 24 Hour Fitness and Zales.

Mobile devices create new types of impulse purchases. At the same time, the in-store research capabilities that phones present will wipe out many time-honored impulse buys, according to StorefrontBacktalk.

Multichannel home furnishings retailer Crate and Barrel has partnered with shopkick Inc. as the latest ally to deliver location-based shopping rewards to consumers for visiting stores.

The growing use of smartphone technology and the economic downturn have encouraged cost-conscious consumers to explore alternative retail channels such as mobile to secure bargains.

Despite the rush by retailers to become mobile-ready, with 58 percent of top brands engaging through the medium, only a minority of consumers plan to buy through mobile this holiday season, according to Tamar research.