Imagine this: Instead of your credit card, you pull your cell phone out of your pocket to pay for groceries or gas or clothes. The wireless industry has been talking about “mobile commerce” for years, but apparently there have been a lot of hardware problems to overcome. So companies are now looking to software instead. And it appears mobile gift cards are the low hanging fruit. Why? There is a felt need: People have trouble remembering what gift cards they have, keeping track of their gift cards, and having them on hand when they need them. (Of course, retailers who figure unredeemed gift cards into their profitability forecasting may see solving these problems as a downside).

Here's a Target example.

What's the marketing strategy? Some companies like Transaction Wireless are taking a "push" strategy with technology that lets retailers sell gift cards on their websites or Facebook pages, and then delivers the virtual card to the customer's cell phone or e-mail account. Firethorn is using a "pull" marketing approach with their app called SWAGG that lets people use their cell phone to buy and store gift cards from retailers they like. This requires building a consumer brand. Similarly, FastGift is all about consumers buying gift cards and e-sending them to cell phone of friends and family. They're branding it as a mobile gift-giving service.

I think we'll see mobile gift cards catch on in the U.S. rather quickly, simply because of the convenience factor. With mobile banking, mobile airline boarding passes, and high profile mobile retailers becoming mainstream, security and privacy concerns are dwindling. This is a nice example of how push and pull marketing both have their place in advancing disruptive innovation.