Companies that cater to consumers are always chasing after the latest consumer technology trend (anyone remember Second Life?), and this holiday season that means following them into the world of social media.

Companies ranging from Wal-Mart and Panda Express to J.C. Penney and Target are experimenting with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Flickr. Some are tweeting special coupons or limited-time deals, while others are doling out fashion advice or providing play-by-plays from product launch parties on Facebook. M.A.C. said it is using its Facebook page to feature artists, color collections, and what is happening backstage at fashion shows. 

While figuring out if all this tweeting, posting and friending is increasing sales is difficult, companies said one thing is certain: Social media is giving them a direct, unfiltered link to consumers.

For instance, when Target asked its Facebook fans what they thought of its mens clothing line, they got suggestions like: “MORE MLB, NFL, NBA merchandise…” and “Could use a better selection of mens jeans, and tall mens shirts (not just dress shirts) too.”

Target is now using the responses to tweak its merchandise selection.

When Panda Express wanted to celebrate its new SweetFire chicken breast, it allowed Facebook fans to print a coupon so they coud visit a restaurant on Sept. 25 and try it for free. Chief Marketing Officer Glenn Lunde said 25,000 coupons were redeemed and traffic in its restaurants rose that day. 

Larry Weintraub, the chief executive of marketing agency Fanscape, said that unlike traditional media, social media can give companies tangible results.

“If I run a TV ad or I do a billboard … I don’t always know the direct effect,” he said. “If I do Facebook and there’s a coupon or a direct link to buy it, I actually see the results.”

Coach said it is luring shoppers to its stores and its website by using Facebook, Twitter and establishing relationships with influential blogs. For this holiday, it is developing an iPhone gifting application. Users can type in who they are shopping for, what that person’s favorite color is, and their price range. The application will respond with a bundle of possible gift ideas.

But Zain Raj of Euro RSCG Discovery said companies need to keep social media’s potential in perspective for this holiday. He pointed to Dell, which has said it raked in more than $3 million from Twitter followers who clicked through its posts to its Websites to make purchases. 

However, Raj said that is “not even a drop in the ocean” for a company that posted $12.3 billion of revenue in the first quarter of this year, alone.

(Photo/Reuters)

Check out Mattel reporting a smaller-than-expected decline in third-quarter revenue as the toymaker sees gains in its Hot Wheels and American Girl brands.

Profit fell to $229.8 million, or 63 cents a share, from $238.1 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier.  Net sales fell 8 percent to $1.79 billion.  Analysts expected revenue of $1.78 billion.

Chief Executive Robert Eckert said Mattel’s revenue was still under pressure due to the weak economy, a move by retailers to tightly manage inventory and a dearth of toy lines tied to movies and other entertainment.

“That said, we are continuing to make strong progress on reducing costs, rebuilding margins and generating strong cash flow,” he said in a statement.

Mattel and rival Hasbro are facing another tough holiday as key retailers Wal-Mart and Target have already begun offering steep discounts on their products to woo shoppers.

After a bruising holiday season in 2008, toy companies are making fewer and more affordable products, such as those that cost less than $30. Mattel’s Barbie “Fashionista” doll is expected to be a hot seller this holiday.  It sells for $11.99 at Toys R Us.

Hasbro will report earnings on Monday morning.

Also in the basket:

Cadbury looks for sweet Q3 to deter Kraft

Office Depot CEO worried about small U.S. businesses

Tesco sets goal to be zero-carbon business by 2050

Louboutin Fetes Barbie at 50 (WWD, subscription required)

(Photo: Reuters)

You know how it is when you take a trip to Target: You're going to buy just that ONE THING that you need, and you're going to keep it cheap. As you leave the store, you wonder how you dropped hundreds of dollars on things that you didn't realize you needed until you walked into the store.

Target is hoping to spawn a similar phenomenon on its website, where it has begun offering a magazine newsstand. Rather than starting from scratch, it has signed on Zinio, a digital publishing company that offers magazines and books from more than 350 publishers.

Zinio will sell electronic versions of magazines on a page on Target's website, either as single editions of current and older issues, or as annual subscriptions - usually at a discount. People can read them in a Web browser version or through an application that Zinio offers for download. This is similar to what they've done on other websites, like the one operated by Barnes & Noble.

Yes, you can already look at online versions of magazines, Zinio Chief Executive Richard Maggiotto said in an interview. This is different, however, he said: "It's a high-fidelity, robust magazine." In other words, these titles, ranging from Elle to Woman's Day to Seventeen, are meant to look -- if not feel -- like the print magazines they are replacing. Zinio and Target will share the revenue they get from each sale.

Maggiotto declined to reveal specific goals, but said that he would be happy to see 1,000 or more new subscriptions (a month) come in during the first year of the Target partnership. So far, he said, Zinio sees about 60 percent of its magazine sales coming from archival or current issue sales, and about 40 percent from subscriptions.

This might not be such big news on most other days, but it is coming after some cataclysmic events transpired in the magazine industry. With ad sales suffering, big publishers such as Conde Nast are cutting workers and titles, making some media experts wonder whether the good times are over forever. Digital revenue has failed to make up for print revenue losses, just like in the newspaper world. But every little bit helps, right? Apparently so. Maggiotto would not say who Zinio's next partners are, but said that "there are 10 more in the queue."

(PS: Apologies to Tom Waits for stealing one of his lyrics for the sake of a headline. It's from "Nighthawks at the Diner." The photo is all Reuters)

Check out the quickly shifting media landscape putting retailers’ ad strategies at risk.

In a research note this week, Credit Suisse analyst Michael Exstein examined what changes in the media world mean for retailers who are used to reaching consumers through traditional channels — like the newspaper.

In the past five years, there has been a modest shift from print toward digital media, but Exstein warned that: ”We may in effect be reach a ‘tipping point’ where past media strategies will no longer be sustainable.”

Promotional national retailers that cater to a younger demographic and rely on national media to communicate to customers may be most exposed to changes in the media landscape, he said.

“This is a particularly acute problem for retailers that are used to (some would say dependent on) driving sales and marketshare through promotions such as Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and JCPenney,” he said.

“How will they promote in the future if the Sunday newspaper can not be counted on to distribute an insert or an television network can not be counted on to deliver an audience at a specific time/day?”

Retailers like Target that have a large number of younger shoppers — shoppers who rarely, if ever, read a newspaper and instead spend large amounts of time using Facebook or Twitter – there is less time to respond to the changing way consumers consume media, he said.

But retailers with older demographics – like Bon-Ton, Dillard’s, JCPenney or Macy’s – may have the advantage of at least being able to follow the lead of other retailers, who will need to move swiftly to respond to the shifting media landscape.

Also in the basket:

Estee to end wholesale distribution of Prescriptives

Hemlines heading way up in spring 2010 fashions

Kraft may need 850-900p to swallow Cadbury

Pilgrim’s Pride files Chapter 11 plan

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out analysts’ calls on middle and upper income shoppers.

Thursday’s sales reports showed that some consumers have started to buy their little luxuries again, a trend retail industry experts say is crucial for sales to rebound this fall and winter.

Michael Koskuba, Portfolio Manager for Victory Capital Management’s Victory Large Gap Growth Fund, recommended that investors look into discount names with a discretionary bent, such as Target, which he owns in his fund.

“We thought, well, if things do start to improve they’ll be a beneficiary of that, and clearly we’ve seen the outperformance in the stocks,” Koskuba said of Target shares compared with those of Wal-Mart Stores Inc so far this year.

“The discounters in general, especially the ones that do have the discretionary component to them, I think are the one that will continue to do well,” he said, citing companies such as Target and off-price retailer TJX.  “I think those are sort of the areas that investors should be focusing on.”

Still, low-income consumers alone cannot ensure a retail recovery.

“While we believe market share gains for the discounters are likely to persist as the consumer remains focused on value and as the savings rate remains elevated relative to recent years, we are more positively disposed toward retailers in our coverage addressing the middle-to-upper-income consumer,” said William Blair analyst Mark Miller.

Michael Niemira, chief economist of the International Council of Shopping Centers, said he noticed encouraging trends in Thursday’s reports, such as Costco selling more televisions (albeit at a lower average price).

“You say, well, TV sales are deferrable, but that’s a discretionary purchase.  So there’s something beneath the surface that is, I think, a little bit more positive,” Niemira said. 

He expects a broader group of retailers to start posting positive sales results by the end of the year, and not just because they face easy comparisons since the end of 2008 was so abysmal.

“Even luxury will be participating in that,” Niemira said.  “I don’t think you can have a sustained consumer recovery without the luxury component strengthening.”

Also in the basket:

People would rather lose wallet than cellphone

Mattel accused of trying to influence MGA probe

Carrefour, Max Azria Discontinue Venture (WWD, subscription required)

(Reuters photo)

Check out the latest news on U.S. retail sales.

The trend was pretty much the same as it has been lately — most chains posted declines in August sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales.

However, many declines were not all that bad and there were a handful of increases, which could be a sign that consumers are really back to shopping.

Target and Gap, for example, posted drops that were not as steep as anticipated.  Aeropostale and TJX both saw sales rise more than expected.  Still, others fell short.  Abercrombie & Fitch, Rite Aid, Children’s Place and others were among those whose sales declined more than Wall Street predicted.

Now all eyes turn to what demand will be like for the holiday season.  Sure, it’s still summer, but it’s getting chilly out there.  We’re sure retailers would love it if you went out and bought a new sweater or coat.  Or five.

(Reuters photo)

Also in the basket:

New U.S. jobless claims fell last week

Del Monte profit tops estimates

Family Dollar sales miss goals, shares plummet

US drugstore clinics should get flu season lift

A Decade Sophisticated but Louder (NY Times)

Check out the recession. It appears it was still alive and well at Saks in the second quarter.
 
The upscale retailer posted a $54.5 million loss in the quarter, wider than the $32.7 million seen a year earlier.
 
Same-store sales fell 15.5 percent in the quarter and Saks expects that measure to fall in the mid-to-high single digits in the second half of the year.
 
The company has been cutting expenses and controlling inventory. The loss also was not as bad as analysts expected.
 
But unless a Versace dress becomes the “must-have” back to school item, the tough sales environment at Saks is likely to continue.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Cost cuts help Home Depot beat estimates
 
Big part of U.S. back-to-school sales still ahead: NRF
 
CKE same-store sales off 3.6 pct in latest four weeks
 
Target profit falls, but beats Wall Street view

(Reuters photo)

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)

Clothing has been a tough sell amid the recession, as shoppers stick to buying more of what they need and less of what they want.

But mass merchants are continuing to strike deals with designers, hoping they can find the right mix of fashionable clothes and low prices to win sales from frugal shoppers.

Right now, Walmart.com is touting its new Miley Cyrus & Max Azria clothing collection. The website had a page devoted to the collaboration, showing the teen star dressed in the line of rock-inspired clothing for teens.

The collection features tie-dye tank tops for $6, graphic T-shirts for $7 (like the one pictured above), and skinny jeans for $20.

A link to “Go behind the scenes” says it is coming soon, but a link listing Miley’s upcoming concert dates and a link to buy her music from Walmart.com does work.

Meanwhile Target.com is featuring its new Paul Frank for Target collection.

Frank brings his familiar cartoon characters to Target, with slippers for $8.99 and a T-shirt (shown at right) for $7.99 emblazoned with his popular Julius the monkey.

As an added incentive for price-conscious shoppers, Target.com visitors can click on a link for a coupon that will give them $2 off a Paul Frank for Target clothing purchase until August 29.

(Photos: from Walmart.com and Target.com)

A new report by Inside Facebook discusses some best practices for retailers hoping to set up shop on the popular social networking site.

Some of the recommendations include letting users shop from within Facebook, including even the ability to share product information with friends.  Another suggestion is to have contests, giveaways and sweepstakes.

But what’s most interesting is the last suggestion: keep it simple with status updates.

Life is Good does. With simple status updates (much like the name of the brand itself), Life is Good elicits more pondering from its fan community. Their most recent update: “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

Expanding that to “conversation in general,” it seems that specific approach is the key between a social networking presence and a successful social networking presence.

One example from outside the industry is NASA, whose Twitter feed for the Mars Phoenix lander was a huge success.

Part of what helped NASA’s Twitter experiment rocket to such success was how personal it felt to the viewers. Throughout the mission, NASA actually took the time to respond to people’s questions and share in discoveries.

These ideas do translate to retail, of course. JetBlue is very conversational on its Twitter feed, offering travel tips and discounts. Dell became e-famous for offering exclusive discounts both through Twitter and Facebook. And Whole Foods suggests recipes, all through social networking.

What’s challenging, however, is that there is not one simple answer for any of these companies. Each seems to have taken some of these basic principles and applied them to their own brand to create interestingly different outcomes.

But each of the successful ones has the same strategy in the end: conversation. Most of the top brands on Facebook all create original content, post comments, or respond to customers through social networking to increase the conversation about their company and products.