Target Corp’s Cartwheel, released in public beta today, combines social networking and discounts in the retailer’s latest move to lure traffic to its physical stores and away from online rivals. 

As brick and mortar retailers struggle for relevance, fighting the growing trend of “showrooming,” they’re turning to social media to attact consumers with unique deals. Target worked with Facebook for about a year on Cartwheel, whose tagline reads, "A whole new spin on saving," where shoppers can choose from hundreds of deal items such as Target's own Threshold home goods as well as brand goodies like M&Ms candy and Coca-Cola soft drinks. 

The Cartwheel launch includes 700 new offers, and claiming any one generates automatic News Feed posts on Facebook unless the user turns them off.Continue reading...

ESPN apologizes for comments by commentator after NBA player announces he's gay.

Honda recalls almost 46,000 Fits in North America.

Chrysler sees profit tumble on poorly executed product launches.

Alibaba and Sina form alliance of China online businesses.

Apple files for new technology that tells whether to text or call friends.

Asos prepares marketing drive to grow global brand.

BP reviews safety after oil leak in North Sea.

Best Buy sells Europe unit back to Carphone Warehouse.

BlackBerry CEO questions future of tablets (which brand doesn't have).Continue reading...

Starbucks raises outlook after strong second quarter.

Boeing gets clearance for re-launching Dreamliner in Japan and United's planes in May.

Altria Group plans to enter e-cigarette market.

3M cuts outlook as demand sputters.

Amazon outstrips growing profits with growing spending.

Best Buy tries to reduce "pain points" for customers, staff.

Cap'n Crunch launches new YouTube channel for adults.

Exxon Mobil oil output falls again.Continue reading...

As brand loyalty continues to slide for the third consecutive year, Deloitte's annual American Pantry Study shows close to nine in 10 consumers are choosing private-label or store brands over national brands.

"Every manufacturer has been affected by this," said Pat Conroy, vice chairman and U.S. Consumer Producers Leader at Deloitte. "None of the manufacturers had as many must-have brands as they thought they did. The playing field has fundamentally changed. It will not go back to the way it was right before the recession…Manufacturers must find a way to differentiate the product and find a better way to get the product into the consumer's pantry."

As for consumers, an air of remorse hangs over their heads from a past filled with careless spending habits, which was exacerbated by the recession. “They tried various lower cost options and the vast majority of them found there was little noticeable difference in quality. This was an epiphany for the consumer," adds Conroy.Continue reading...

HTC One, a.k.a. the Facebook Home phone that's coming to AT&T and other carriers, is just one focus of the company’s impending brand refresh and aggressive marketing campaign to get better market placement against competitors like Samsung. 

HTC has been known for good hardware and not-so-good promotion, but squaring off against marketing-savvy Samsung requires the former to up its game. "It's one thing to make a great device—HTC has done that before," Mike Woodward, president of HTC America told the LA Times. "What is a little different this time is the way that we're going to market. We want to really get that down to the streets and get that down to consumers." 

HTC had been using “quietly brilliant” as its slogan, but the brand is looking to step out of its shell with a new marketing message that has “bold,” “authentic” and “playful” themes. The new tagline, "Everything Your Phone Isn't," is courting "Generation Feed" (what HTC calls tech-savvy, early-adopters). "Tech millennials are hard to connect with," Erin McGee, HTC North America VP Marketing told Ad Age. "We wanted to create a closer connection by targeting passion points."Continue reading...

HP board shakeup and chairman exit gives CEO Meg Whitman a chance to shake off troubles.

BP faults Deepwater Horizon claims overseer, launches first brand-wide fuel loyalty program.

BMW prepares X4 crossover for U.S. market, makes vehicles greener with fewer cylinders, less gasoline.

Al Jazeera America hires CNN's Ali Velshi as anchor.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos leads $5 million investment round in Henry Blodget's Business Insider.

Apple reportedly signs music labels for streaming service as Google's YouTube clinches deal with Universal Music.

Best Buy may have turned the tide on showrooming Amazon.Continue reading...

Apple has 400 stores of its own and partnerships with Best Buy, Walmart and Target to showcase its products, but its sales secret is out. One of its main competitors in the smartphone marketplace, Samsung, took a page from its playbook and announced Thursday that it will open mini-stores in 1,400 Best Buys nationwide by the end of June, according to the New York Times.

The Samsung Experience Shops will be stuffed with Samsung’s smartphones, tablets, cameras, laptops, televisions and accessories as well as offer service for Samsung products. That last part sounds a little bit like Apple’s Genius Bar, no? One big difference between the two Best Buy experiences is that Samsung will have its own checkout, Forbes reports, while those wanting to buy Apple gear will need to go through the main checkout like everybody else.Continue reading...

Best Buy has joined seen-better-days peer Yahoo! by ending its flexible work-from-home program.

Of its Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) plan, Best Buy spokesman Matt Furman told the Star Tribune, “It makes sense to consider not just what the results are but how the work gets done." Best Buy will now exclusively move to a Results Mostly Work Environment (RMWE).

Best Buy's move means two things for Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. On one hand, it's an endorsement of her theory that physical presence and proximity are needed to foster creative development and a healthy internal brand.

On the other hand, it's an endorsement of her theory that physical presence and proximity are needed to foster creative development and a healthy internal brand as the only way to save a doomed company. Simply put, ending flextime is the "amputate the leg to stop the gangrene" approach to management. A bad sign of overall health.

But then, Best Buy's health is no secret in its home country or abroad. A potential buyout from Best Buy's founder fell apart a week ago even as the retailer flails around to try and counter "showrooming" by smartphone-wielding shoppers.Continue reading...