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)

Hey Brian Dunn, CEO of gadget lover's cathedral top electronics retailer Best Buy, what's on your short list of five great bang-for-your-buck devices for this holiday season?
(Thanks to the CNN Money reporter for asking this question at a press conference today)

DUNN: My short list?

* (First), on my personal short list -- a netbook is definitely on my short list - and by the way it's a companion device. It's lightweight, it's small, it's great to take on a quick trip.
* (Second) I think the HD Instinct is a very interesting smartphone. [Mediafile: That's Samsung's Instinct HD]
* (Third) I love my Flip HD camcorder. That's a great piece.
* Four, I really love the Ultra Thin OLED TVs are cool. [Mediafile: Um, cool yes. Bang for Buck? At about $2,000 for an 11-inch screen, let's just leave it at cool and move on. mkay?]
* The fifth one, of course, is a gift card , that I can give to the people I love, so they can get whatever it is they want.

Well played, Brian. Well Played.

Check Out the discount giant’s latest move.

Walmart.com announced that it added nearly one million new products to its online collection with the launch of Walmart Marketplace, which lets consumers buy items from a specific group of other retailers through its own website.

The move adds products and top brands in areas such as home goods, apparel, toys and baby items.

The world’s largest retailer’s current Marketplace retailers include shoes to toys company CSN Stores, online bag and luggage seller eBags and Pro Team, a licensed sports clothing and collectibles company.  The company said it plans to add more retailers over the next year.

Wal-Mart, with its “Save money. Live better” slogan, has benefited in the past year as consumers have turned to its cheaper prices in the recession.

For its latest online expansion, Wal-Mart said it picked specific retailers known for their assortment and customer service.  All purchases from Walmart Marketplace retailers will be managed through Walmart.com’s checkout process, though the retailers themselves will manage other services such as shipping, customer service and returns.

Also in the basket:

Consumer spending up, but morale at 4-month low

Marvel jumps on acquisition by Disney

South Korea changing tack in China market

Home barbering grows in recession - (WSJ, subscription required)

(Photo/Reuters)

Sears, the low-priced retailer known for its selection of Craftsman tools and kitchen appliances, is jumping on the beauty bandwagon.

The retailer is debuting beauty departments  — called Sears Beauty — in 13 mall locations in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Sears Beauty will sell cosmetics, skin care, bath and body products, and fragrances by brands like L’Oreal, Maybelline, and CoverGirl. The offering, Sears says, is designed to help shoppers “achieve their ideal beauty results.”

Sears isn’t alone in wanting to help shoppers put their best face forward. JC Penney has installed Sephora locations inside many of its department stores, while Wal-Mart has reached a deal to sell an exclusive line of Hard Candy makeup in its discount stores.

Retailers look at cosmetics as a way to drive consumers into their stores more frequently, because shoppers typically need to purchase a new lipstick or restock their favorite body wash more often than they need to buy a new suit or replace their ride-on lawn mower.

To mark the opening of the beauty departments, Sears is offering a free cosmetic bag and brush set with any $25 cosmetics, fragrance or bath purchase, and a $10 Sears reward card with any $50 cosmetics, fragrance, or bath purchase.

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out the quarterly losses reported by J.C. Penney and former teen darling, Abercrombie & Fitch.

Penney reported a net loss of $1 million, or nil per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $117 million, or 52 cents per share. Analysts on average expected a loss of 1 cent per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The loss was bigger over at Abercrombie.

The clothing retailer recorded a net loss of $26.7 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a net profit of $77.8 million, or 87 cents a share, a year earlier.

Penney has fashioned itself as a value destination in the downturn, and said on Friday that it sold more merchandise at regular promotional prices and less at clearance prices. Shoes and women’s clothing were the strongest sellers, while children’s apparel sales were weakest.

Abercrombie, which has been reluctant have its name associated with value, faced sliding sales, higher markdowns and increased costs in the quarter.

As the economic downturn has deepened, teenagers are overlooking its high-priced fashions and turn to rivals with cheaper prices like Aeropostale or Forever 21. Abercrombie has slowly begun to discount or lower the starting ticket prices on some items to address the consumer aversion to high prices in the downturn.

The company said it remained on track to open three international flagship stores in fiscal 2009, including two stores in Milan and one outlet in Tokyo.

Also in the basket:

Dole Foods files for $500 mln IPO

Swatch sees H2 recovery after forecast-beating H1

Bloomie’s Flagship gets overhaul (WWD, subscription required)

Wal-Mart thinks locally to act globally (WSJ, subscription required)

(Photos: Reuters)

Citigroup retail analysts held a call with the media to discuss their outlook for this year’s back-to-school season and, as we’ve been hearing, there are few bright spots on the horizon.

Deborah Weinswig, who covers retailers including Costco, Wal-Mart and Nordstrom, said Citi expects back-to-school same-store sales for those retailers to fall 3 percent to 4 percent.

That compares with a gain of 0.9 percent last year.

“This is the first year since at least 1995 that we are projecting a decline in back to school same store sales,” she said. “In addition, if back-to-school sales don’t materialize early we believe that retailers could become very promotional in an attempt to drive traffic and sales.”

She said Citi’s proprietary back-to-school survey found that 45 percent of consumers plan to spend less for this year’s new school season than they did a year ago. The survey found that most consumers plan to buy apparel (75% vs. 79% last year), while the second most common purchase is expected to be a personal computer (15% vs. 19% last year) –although, as you can see, the percent planning to buy in both categories is down year-over-year.

J.C. Penney is one of Weinswig’s top picks for back to school - helped mainly by the fact that they have very easy comparisons to a year ago when sales fell.

Kimberly Greenberger, another analyst, said she is cautiously optimistic for improving sales and profit trends for the back to school season for softline retailers, or chains like Aeropostale and Pacific Sunwear. Greenberger said she was bullish on the outlook for American Eagle Outfitters and Urban Outfitters.

She said Urban Outfitters is a best-in-class retailer, while American Eagle Outfitters is showing improved product execution and faces easier sales and margin comparisons.

(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)

The doctor is in.

Dr. Andrew Sussman was named president and chief operating officer of CVS Caremark’s MinuteClinic unit on Tuesday.

Sussman, who was most recently COO at UMass Memorial Medical Center and an associate professor at UMass’s medical school, also became CVS Caremark’s associate chief medical officer.

The company named Troyen Brennnan, Aetna’s former top doc, to the new role of chief medical officer back in November.

The latest appointment comes as CVS tries to expand the reach of MinuteClinic in-store clinics, which can already be found in about 500 locations across 25 U.S. states.  Rival Walgreen has about 345 Take Care clinics in 19 states.

Chip Phillips, who had been MinuteClinic president for just over a year, became president of TheraCom.  That CVS business helps biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturers find commercial success for their specialty products.

Clinics, which have popped up in some Walmart stores and other  retail outlets, have gained some popularity as consumers look for quick, inexpensive advice rather than waiting in emergency rooms or doctor’s offices.

(Photo\CVS Caremark)

This is a picture of a label that might one day adorn the merchandise hanging on a rack at Wal-Mart.

The final look and feel of the label could change - maybe it would have a number rating instead of a sliding scale.

But Wal-Mart said the idea is to give shoppers a means of calculating the environmental and social cost of making, packing and selling all of the items in its stores.

The labels could take a while to develop — maybe five to ten years — so they wouldn’t necessarily be aimed at the shopper in its stores today.

But they could be a way for the retailer to win the business of the next generation. High school and college students of today may not yet have much money to spend now. But once they start earning a paycheck, according to Wal-Mart, they intend to spend it at retailers that care about the environment.

“This is the No. 1 issue on college campuses today, regardless of what happens with the economy, because they know this is their future,” Chief Merchandising Officer John Fleming said on a webcast when Wal-Mart announced the labels.

There is a lot of work that will need to take place before the label can move from an idea to a reality. And what consumers say they intend to do and what they actually choose to do with their dollars can often diverge. But it will be interesting to see, if the labels do come to fruition, how much shoppers will care and whether a higher green rating is enough to convince them to pay what could be a higher price.

Wal-Mart says it would like to see other retailers embrace the idea and also use such labels. But if they don’t, will Wal-Mart’s rating system on its merchandise be trusted?

(Photo: Copy of a slide included in Wal-Mart’s presentation on developing a sustainability index)