Check out Target already looking forward to the 2011 holiday season.

The discount retailer said it is taking control of Target.com and aiming to launch its new website by the 2011 holiday season.

The announcement signals the end of a relationship with online retailer Amazon.com that began in 2001.

“We believe it is in Target’s best interest going forward to assume full control over the design and management of Target’s e-commerce technology platform, fulfillment and guest services operations,” Target.com President Steve Eastman said in a statement.

Target had previously extended its contract with Amazon to 2011, but the companies will continue to work together during the next two years.

Also in the basket:

Crocs Q2 beats, sees return to profit in 2010

Blue Nile profit in-line; full-yr view tops, shrs up

Hhgregg Q1 profit beats Street, reaffirms outlook

Forget the shuttle, take a Hermes chopper to the airport

Supreme Court Justice Thomas and Wife Camp Out at Wal-Mart (Foxnews.com)

(Photo: Reuters)

Online retail may be outperforming brick-and-mortar rivals amid the U.S. recession, but that’s no reason to get complacent.

In a wake-up call to the industry, a new survey shows that customer satisfaction with online retailers declined 3 percent from last year.

The slipping satisfaction level uncovered in ForeSee Results’ Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index is a “remarkable trend,” according to its author.

The report — which surveyed 22,000 respondents to measure customer satisfaction at the top 100 online retailers by sales volume — found that the top performers were outweighed by more bottom performers, with 55 online retailers seeing their scores drop from last year.
 
“Customer satisfaction, when measured scientifically, is not just a number or a beauty contest. It is a direct precursor of customer behaviors that have a measurable and quantifiable ability to impact sales and profitability,” warned author Larry Freed.
    
A 1 point increase in customer satisfaction is equivalent to nearly 9 percent growth in online sales, the report found, while a satisfied shopper is 71 percent more likely to buy than a dissatisfied one. 
    
First, the good news: Netflix.com is still No 1, followed by Amazon.com, with the top two companies maintaining their spots for five years in a row.  Avon.com came in third.

While a score of 80 or above represents a superior job, those logging lower than a 70 need some help.

That group includes 1800Flowers.com, BlueNile.com, JCrew.com, UrbanOutfitters.com and RestorationHardware.com.

The biggest year-over-year declines in customer satisfaction came from discounter Etronics.com and book retailer efollett.com, both also among the worst performers.
    
“It is surprising that any of the top 100 retailers could get away with scores in the 60s and maintain any kind of market dominance for very long,” wrote Freed.
    
While not in the bottom group, sites including CVS.com, NeimanMarcus.com, Apple.com and Blockbuster.com all saw their ratings fall over 6 percent from the prior year.

The biggest year-over year improvement came from Kohls.com, which improved nearly 6 percent.

Check out quarterly results being dished up with a big side of caution.

Polo Ralph Lauren reported higher second quarter profit, citing increased sales and a lower tax rate.

Polo, whose brands include Polo, Chaps and Club Monaco, affirmed its earnings outlook for fiscal 2009, but it tempered its full-year sales forecast. It now expects a low single-digit increase in 2009 revenue, instead of a low-to-mid single digit increase as earlier expected.

Meanwhile, Maidenform Brands posted better-than-expected third-quarter results as it sold more of its undergarments to department stores and national retail chains.

But as customers like Boscov’s and Mervyns go out of business, it cut its 2008 earnings per share forecast to $1.17 to $1.21 from a prior outlook of $1.22 to $1.30. Maidenform also expects full year net sales to be flat to down 1 percent, compared with a previous view for net sales to be down 1 percent to up 1 percent.

K-Swiss posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by the acquisition of Palladium SAS, and raised its 2008 outlook. But the company, which sells its products under the K-Swiss and Royal Elastics brands in the United States and Europe, said the uncertainty caused by the credit markets disruption and likely recession present substantial challenges.

“Excluding Palladium, our financial results and backlog confirm the deteriorating global outlook for K-Swiss in 2008 and 2009,” according to Chairman Steven Nichols.

The results come a day after online jewelry retailer Blue Nile posted lower quarterly profit, as higher diamond prices and tightened credit hurt sales.  It also withdrew a full-year outlook, citing uncertainty over consumer spending, and it expects a “very challenging” holiday season.

“The extensive weakening of the U.S. economy and tight credit conditions faced by consumers hampered our growth,” said Blue Nile Chief Executive Diane Irvine. “The credit freeze has impacted purchases of high-ticket items, as traditional avenues of financing have now closed.”

Also in the basket:

Consumer spending hit by crisis: MasterCard (Reuters)

Private sector cuts 157,000 jobs in Oct (Reuters)

Papa John’s net profit rises but below Street (Reuters)

McQueen Kicks Off Target Design Effort (WWD, subscription required)

(Photo: Reuters)

Soon, Signet will move its primary stock exchange listing to the New York Stock Exchange and may attract more investors to an already strong base. Signet who, you ask? They are known best as the operators of the Kay Jewelers chain and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry stores in the United States.

For Signet, sales trends in the United States are a bit different from those in the United Kingdom, according to the company. Predictably, U.S. sales peak around the year-end holidays, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, though British shoppers are not keen jewelry buyers for the latter two holidays . Also, U.S. consumers are more into buying anniversary jewelry and upgrading engagement rings throughout the year. In the UK? Not so much.

These days, the greatest difference between jewelry brands may be the shopping experience and not necessarily the value of the diamonds their customers covet. (Of course, you need cash to buy those earrings, to begin with.) 

If you have a few thousand in hand and could do with an upscale, luxurious shopping experience, walk into a Tiffany or Harry Winston store. If those dollars are sparse, but you still want to try on those earrings before buying them, there are the Kay and Zale stores for you. But if you want that peaceful, easy feeling, (i.e. spend zilch on gas and avoid crowds) – open a new Web page and shop online. 

Online shopping has become critical, even for jewelers. But not all of them have realized the importance of an inviting Web site. Tiffany has revamped its Web site. Blue Nile, on the other end, has no stores and sells its jewelry purely online. 

Signet? About 55 percent of their stores are in malls, while their online retail sales are not significant, according to the jeweler. The company is still seeing its shoppers head to stores for baubles and they are willing to pay a premium for in-store service.

Signet derives about 75 percent of its sales from the United States and has a strong investor base here — explaining the primary listing move to the NYSE, scheduled to take effect on Sept. 11. The company  intends to keep a secondary listing in London.

(Photo of eclipse: Reuters)