In case you haven’t heard, Walmart wants to help consumers save money during these trying times, and Single Touch Systems’ abbreviated dialing code program is helping the retailer get the word out.

Walmart has launched a “Savings Alert” mobile service

To keep shoppers up-to-date on special weekly holiday savings, Walmart has launched a “Savings Alert” mobile service to give customers weekly notifications. Customers can sign up at www.walmart.com/mobileinfo or by dialing #WMT from a cell phone.

In advertisements this week, Walmart included a note letting consumers know they can sign up for the mobile alerts. Throughout the holiday season, Walmart will send messages about instant gift ideas, recipes, product information and reviews. After the holidays, #WMT will continue to serve up seasonal features, along with money-saving tips and tools, according to Wal-Mart.

The alert system is scalable and Walmart doesn’t have to train all its cashiers on something new to make it work, said Anthony Macaluso, president and CEO of Single Touch.

Macaluso has worked with Walmart over the years for another one of his inventions – nets for sports, like golf and baseball. For large retailers, the point of sale is “everything” for their business, and the last thing they want is someone tampering with that system. “We’ve been able to demonstrate that our system really works in conjunction with what they’re doing,” with no behavior or other modification, he said.

Single Touch, along with Walmart and Kraft Foods, is a finalist in the North American category for “Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Direct Response” in the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) annual global awards. Winners will be announced Nov. 13.