Belk is ramping up its digital and in-store efforts this year with special discounts and a mobile gift-giving application.

The department store has added a new app to its roster, letting consumers create gift lists by scanning a product bar code or searching a product. The Belk Gift Giving app is just one of the ways in which Belk is preparing for this year’s abridged shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“We released Belk’s gift giving app for holiday to help our customers better create, track, share and purchase gifts for friends and family this holiday season,” said Ivy Chin, senior vice president of ecommerce at Belk, Charlotte, NC.

“Customers can build gift lists for multiple holidays and people, track what they’ve bought and what remains to be purchased and share lists with others,” she said.

“The app is not just for the holiday — it can be repurposed for future holiday/event planning, i.e., birthdays, Mother’s Day, etc., so our customers can keep a history of gifts given.”

Gift giving
The Belk Gift Giving app helps consumers organize and manage their holiday shopping. It is available for free in Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Consumers can add items to a list by scanning a product in-store, searching within the app or manually entering an item. They can then organize the items by recipients, events and groups.

On every product page within the app, there is a button to add to bag as well as add to gift list. If the consumer clicks add to gift list, he or she will be asked to select the specific list and recipient.

If a consumer clicks on add to bag, he or she can checkout straight from the app.

Additionally, consumers can browse featured gifting categories, such as gifts under $25 or gifts for her, within the app. They can get mobile coupons, which can be added to Passbook, as well.

The app also lets consumer share lists on social media and via email.

The standard Belk app now links to the gift giving app, and the homepage of Belk.com is advertising it as well.

Holiday shopping
The department store plans to roll out ten company-wide sales promotions and cyber sales on belk.com before the end of the year.

Belk will also open for extra hours on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The first 50 customers at each store at the 8 p.m. opening on Thanksgiving will receive a free Belk gift card with a value ranging from $5 to $1,000.

Additionally, Belk has devoted a microsite, A Modern Southern Christmas, to holiday shopping. The site includes a gift guide and special sections on Christmas decorating, dining and dresswear.

“Belk’s gifting add is a perfect complement to our efforts to connect with our customers this holiday season, both online and in store,” Ms. Chin said.

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York