The Pier 1 mobile ads are running inside the Pandora iPhone application. The company has used mobile advertising in the past to promote seasonal campaigns, but previous campaigns have centered more on driving in-store traffic.

“Whether a last-minute mobile ad campaign is enough to drive mobile sales or not totally depends on these three points,” said Isabella Lin, content director at Appitalism, New York.

“First of all, the price attractiveness of the promotional activities  — as everyone well knows, these holidays are competitive for shopper’s spending,” she said.

“The second point is the ability to lure consumers with the product itself — the product itself must be appropriate for this holiday. Finally, the most important thing is the availability and speed of delivery to ensure that customers can receive the gifts before Christmas. Without these three points being in place, this last-minute mobile ad campaign just plays a minor role in this most competitive Christmas promotional event during this peak shopping period of this year.”

Ms. Lin is not affiliated with Pier 1. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Pier 1 did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile shopping
Pier 1 is running audio and expandable ads inside Pandora.

The ads feature a picture of a snowman product and encourage users to shop from their devices by tapping on the ad.

When clicked on, the mobile ad brings up a landing page that pulls in Pier 1’s mobile site that is filtered to feature gifts.

Users can then click through different products, read reviews and check-out via the site.

Furthermore, consumers can shop by products that are grouped into categories such as seasonal items.

Search results can then be filtered by color, price or type of product.

A search bar in the upper right-hand corner helps users track down something specific that they are looking for.

Users can also find a nearby store by typing in their ZIP code to bring up a list of stores that are linked to directions via Google Maps.

The site also lets consumers sign up for Pier 1’s SMS, email and direct mail programs from the site.

Driving commerce
Nowadays, consumers are buying both small and big-ticket items from their mobile devices.

Therefore, offering them a way to buy directly from their devices is a smart way for Pier 1 to push its products.

Previously, Pier 1’s mobile advertising initiatives have focused on driving consumers to stores.

Specifically, the campaigns help promote Pier 1’s seasonal items.

In June, Pier 1 ran a summer-themed campaign to drive seasonal sales. By clicking on a banner ad, consumers were directed to a landing page where they could browse products and find a nearby store to see the items in person (see story).

Additionally, the company ran a campaign in March that pushed spring-themed products (see story).

With the holiday season right around the corner, now is the time for retailers to make one last push for Christmas sales.

“Overall we think the Pier 1 ad campaign looks like it will be bring some additional click-throughs an sales as it is fun and festive with a typical mix of eclectic gift options that Pier 1 is known for,” Ms. Lin said.

“The degree of price and discount promotions are very attractive to consumers and the product images and content design feels appropriate for this holiday,” she said.

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