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.

Check out efforts to get serious back-to-school shopping underway.

Wal-Mart announced plans to start selling on Sunday a Compaq Presario laptop for $298.

Gary Severson, Wal-Mart U.S.’s senior vice president of home entertainment, told Reuters he thought the deal represented a “screaming value.”

The retailer also plans to cut the price of an Acer laptop with an 8-hour battery by $50 to $548. The computer has 3 gigabytes of memory, a 320 gigabyte hard drive and qualifies for a free upgrade to the Windows 7 operating system when it is released.

Retailers ranging from Wal-Mart, to Target, to J.C. Penney have outlined their plans to lure back-to-school shoppers. Penney is using a special website, jcp.com/teen, to reach web-savvy teenagers who shop for themselves in the back-to-school period but may have less money to do so this year.

But retailers are confronting cash strapped shoppers, who are watching their pennies as the unemployment rate rises and the housing market remains depressed.

Asked for his view of the back-to-school season, the Chief Executive of UPS, Scott Davis, said on a conference call it was too early to tell.

“We’ve not seen a lot of signs yet based on the air freight market and ocean freight market,” he said.

But he said Wal-Mart’s plans to increase its selection of laptop computers was a good sign and perhaps the back-to-school season would be better — a hope likely held by the entire retail industry.

Also in the basket:

Amazon.com buying shoe seller Zappos for $928 million

Kimberly-Clark 2nd-quarter profit falls

McDonald’s quarterly profit falls

Safeway cuts view after tax matter aides profit

P.F. Chang’s, Chipotle, Domino’s top Street

(Photo\Reuters)

Check out the latest sales reports, which show that consumers are still cutting back on discretionary spending as they shift to discounters for the basics.  Granted, that’s not exactly news anymore, but some of this morning’s sales tell us that even the discounters are starting to feel the heat.

“Sales for the month of May were somewhat below our expectations,” chief executive officer of Target, Greg Steinhafel, said in a statement.

He’s not alone.

Big boxers such as Target and BJ’s Wholesale reported steeper than expected drops in same-store sales, suggesting that the recession may have depended further than the luxury market.

Speaking of which, upscale department stores, such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, saw sales slip while Macy’s fared slightly better than analysts had expected.  Abercrombie & Fitch, known for their strong hold on the younger markets saw same-store sales slide 28 percent, worse than the decline analysts had expected.  And teen/tween sensation Hot Topic, saw same-store sales fall 6.4 percent which were, again, steeper than analysts had predicted.

There were some bright spots, though: if you ignore gasoline sales, Costco Wholesale saw same-store sales rise one percent, and BJ’s Wholesale rose 4 percent.  And for apparel, Buckle Inc’s more casual teen market shopped the company’s same-store sales up 13.4 percent.

Even TJX, owner of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s among others, saw higher customer traffic translate into company gains even in the face of fluctuating international exchange rates.

With all of that in mind, it’s important to note that Wal-Mart ceased to report monthly sales as of April, giving some investors headaches, and others a chance to focus on smaller company’s sales data.

Also in the basket:

Signet profit up; Harry Winston beats view

L’Oreal sees 2009 market flat to slightly growing

(Reuters photo)

Target security laid down the law in Waukesha, Wisconsin, ahead of what promises to be one of the most closely watched corporate power struggles of the season.

In one corner is retailer Target, one of America’s largest retailers, and in the other is activist investor William Ackman.

Secret service look-alikes kept a close watch over reporters covering the shareholder vote, while chilly temps and overcast skies provided a dramatic backdrop for the corporate throwdown.

Ackman wants to place five people on the retailer’s board, while Target is running a slate of four incumbent directors.

Shareholders will also vote on the size of the board — Target wants to set it at 12, while Ackman claims it should be 13.
 
Stay tuned.

Target has become synonymous with its big red bulls-eye logo, but now the discounter wants customers to also gravitate toward a new symbol — an arrow.

In a bid to appeal to penny-pinching shoppers, Target is giving its namesake Target Brand, which includes staple items like tissues, diapers and sunscreen, a makeover. It is now showing up on Target’s shelves wrapped in new packaging marked with a big arrow and it has been given a new name — up & up.  (Check out the new look, pictured to the left vs. the old look below) 

Target, which reported a much better than expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, talked to Reuters ahead of the results about its goals for up & up — which is one of its biggest private brands.

“We believe that it will stand out on the shelf, and it is so distinctive that we’ll get new guests that will want to try it that maybe didn’t even notice the Target brand before,” Kathee Tesija, Target’s executive vice president of merchandising, told Reuters.

Look for Target to promote the brand, which tends to be priced about 30 percent less than brand-name equivalent products, in its weekly advertising circulars, online and in its stores.

But name-brand consumer product makers that sell products in Target’s stores that compete with up & up should be on high alert to ensure they can protect their shelf space.

Tesija told Reuters that while name-brand merchandise is very important to Target,  name-brand items that are not the No. 1 or No. 2 product in their category could be replaced by an up & up item.

(Photos provided by Target)

Check out the drop in sales at most retailers.

The results coming in show that things might not be so bleak after all.  Sure, some retailers still disappointed with March same-store sales down more than expected.  Take a look at American Eagle, whose same-store sales fell 16 percent, while analysts expected a 10.4 percent drop.  Still, the company raised the low end of its profit forecast since it marked down less merchandise.

Over on the discount side, Wal-Mart’s same-store sales were only up 1.4 percent, while the Street expected them to rise 3.2 percent.  Still, they were up.  And they should be up again in April.  The CEO of smaller discounter Target, meanwhile, had this to say:

“Our guests continue to be cautious, but we have begun to see encouraging signs in the operating results of both of our business segments. In light of the Easter shift and recent trends, we expect our April reported comparable-store sales results to be essentially flat to last year.”

Are consumers finally out shopping again, and for more than just the basics?

Also in the basket:

U.S. jobless claims ease in latest week

Hot Topic March comps rise on “Twilight” DVD sales

Beauty on a Budget (NYT)

(Reuters photo)

Check out William Ackman’s missive to Target shareholders.

Ackman, a hedge fund manager and activist investor, urged Target’s shareholders to vote down the discount retailer’s proposal to set its board size at 12 members and argued that his five nominees for the board, including Ackman himself, were better suited to serve in that capacity.

His letter is the latest action in the battle between Ackman and Target over boardroom seats at the retailer.  Last month, Target said it was determined to re-elect four directors, prompting a letter from Ackman to Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel contesting the board’s size.

Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management owns about 7.8 percent of Target shares, has been pressing for changes at the retailer for months, including prodding it to sell its credit-card operations and to spin off the land under its stores to boost its stock.

In his letter, Ackman, known for persuading fast-food chain Wendy’s to sell its coffee shop unit, alluded to why his nominees to Target’s board make more sense.

“Please ask yourself whether the company will be best served with the incumbent directors, or with the fresh perspectives of five new independent directors with extensive expertise in each of Target’s main business lines and assets, or who otherwise bring such a strong shareholder and corporate governance perspective to the company,” Ackman said in the letter.

Your turn now, Target.

Also in the basket:

Dubai shifts focus as shoppers hunt for bargains

Mega Brands Q4 loss widens, charges weigh

Companies seek shareholder input on pay practices - WSJ

(Reuters photo)

Check Out the ongoing battle between food makers and retailers.

As the recession crimps household budgets, retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are increasingly looking to woo shoppers with their own private label food items that often look very similar to name brand products but are sold at lower prices.

Wal-Mart is relaunching its Great Value private brand, adding more than 80 new products, like double-stuffed sandwich cookies and organic cage-free eggs.

Foodmakers are defending their turf, telling the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago this week that they are the ones who develop innovative new products and spend marketing dollars to draw shoppers into retailers’ stores. 

But they acknowledged that retailers are giving them a run for their money, introducing better products at a faster pace and squeezing out tertiary brands in the process.

The question now looms as to whether retailers will make the leap from simply imitating name brand foods to innovating on their own.

Wesley Moultrie, a Fitch Ratings senior analyst, said it is in foodmakers’ best interest to lead the way with innovation. 

“If you introduce a new product, no one really knows what the price of that product should be,” he said.

That allows foodmakers to set an initial price and build in a hefty margin before imitators come into the space, he said.

Tell Shop Talk — are you buying more store branded products these days when you do your grocery shopping?

Also in the basket:

Food makers gear marketing to tough times

U.S. shoppers hit meat counters as recession bites

Talbots delays fourth-quarter earnings until April

Where the rich go to shop (WWD)

(Photo: Reuters)

It’s Target.

Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren professed his admiration for Target’s advertising tactics at a consumer conference in New York.

Macy’s ran two back-to-back ad campaigns late last year, which included the “Believe” ads based on the famous New York Sun’s “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial.

Those ads were targeted at unseating the discount retailer, which Lundgren called “one great retail advertiser.”  He said it would take time for Macy’s to reach its goal. 

The department store chain is localizing its stores to cater to consumers’ varying tastes in individual markets. Pittsburgh was one market that Lundgren singled out for learning why it is key to tailor stores to suit local tastes.

Pittsburgh consumers, Lundgren said, surprised Macy’s when they asked for cap sleeve dresses last fall season.

“No one in America was asking for cap sleeve dresses last fall except Pittsburgh,” he said.

Lundgren’s response: Don’t ask, don’t analyze, just give it to them.

That attitude seems to have served Macy’s well, since the department store chain used positive results from its pilot markets for the localization initiative to expand it to more areas.

What is your local Macy’s missing?

(Photo/Reuters)

Just how “wonderful” consumers think your brand is can help your stock price, especially in a recession, according to a study by market research agencies Kadence, Brand Care and So What Research.

The study looked at consumer perceptions of 650 leading U.S. brands and found there is a link between the affection consumers hold for a brand — or the “wonderfulness” of the brand – and its stock performance.  

According to the study, the ten most wonderful brands in the eyes of U.S. consumers are (in descending order) Hershey’s, Google, Sony, Kraft, Crayola, Kellogg’s, Scotch Tape, Wii, Rolls Royce and Johnson & Johnson.

The ten least wonderful brands are (from bottom up) National Enquirer, AIG, Botox, Kia, alli, Hummer, O The Oprah Magazine, Dress Barn, ChemLawn and Direct Buy.

In terms of value, brands that were seen as offering the best ratio of wonderfulness to cost were Wal-Mart, Google, Amazon, Hershey’s, Target, Cheerios, Campbell, PBS, Yahoo and eBay.

Brands that were seen as offering the worst ratio of wonderfulness to cost were Hummer, Botox, Prada, Land Rover, Gucci, AIG, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, Maserati and Ferrari.

“Detailed analysis of responses shows a strong correlation between the level of consumer affection and stock performance in 2008,” said Owen Jenkins, CEO of Boston-based Kadence Business Research, in a statement. 

“For example, corporations owning brands with a mediocre affection score of 4.5 out of 7 lost nearly 50 percent more stock equity last year than corporations owning brands with an affection score of 5.5.

In other words, a small difference in how much a brand is loved makes a big difference in how it performs on the stock market.”

The study was conducted online among 5,500 educated, affluent consumers aged 18-54 during the pre-holiday shopping period in December of 2008.

(Photos: Reuters)