Old Navy is celebrating back to school shopping with the ultimate school — West Beverly Hills High — and its students who made Beverly Hills, 90210 the defining TV series of the 90's. Above, watch Jennie Garth, who played Kelly Taylor, choose between Brandon and Dylan (former castmates Luke Perry and Jason Priestley) in a commercial that's all about having good jeans. More below.Continue reading...

Whether they're whistling through the graveyard or just expressing a perennial sense of holiday optimism, retailers believe Americans will shed their economic malaise and spend with some energy at their stores during the Christmas shopping season. It'll be interesting to see if they hang on to their relatively optimistic prognostications until that season begins in earnest.

For now, at least, it seems that many retailers are hoping that the American economy goes back to the future, when everyone counted on the indomitable consumer to shop a sagging economy back into prosperity. Remember soon after 9/11? The fondest express desire of political leaders was that Americans try to compose themselves — and go shopping.Continue reading...

Arguably, Ford is leading the U.S. auto industry when it comes to understanding the behavior and buying preferences of the Millennial generation. That's one big reason Ford was able to steal a march on all of its competitors with the Sync infotainment system — by making it available in the first place, to work with most smart phones, and then by promoting it heavily as a must-have "accessory" in small vehicles aimed at twentysomethings, including the Focus and Fiesta.

That obviously is the type of insight also underlying a deal with Zipcar that Ford announced today (a deal previewed in the New York Times). Just in time for back to school, Ford will supply the car-sharing service with up to 1,000 Focus sedans and Explorer SUVs to Zipcar locations on 250 college and university campuses in the United States.Continue reading...

Those clucking about Wal-Mart’s woes may want to pay attention this month as American parents participate in the real reason they call it “the dog days of August”: the back-to-school spending binge. A new survey says that parents prefer Wal-Mart by more than two to one over the next closest retailer, Target.

So, despite recent uncertainty about its fundamental pricing and merchandising strategy, Wal-Mart is still perceived as the place to go for bargains on mundane stuff like backpacks, jeans and folders. The chain may have lost its edge, at least temporarily, as Americans’ default choice for “the lowest prices,” but its reputation for comprehensive selection clearly is offsetting that.Continue reading...