????熟悉折扣購物的人都對塔吉特（Target）和沃爾瑪（Walmart）的差異了如指掌。

????塔吉特的貨架上擺滿了低成本的床罩、浴簾和色彩艷麗、樣式時髦的服飾 。而沃爾瑪則出售生活必需品：便宜的麥片、洗衣粉、散裝肉和紙碟。

????事實上，塔吉特更有情趣，而沃爾瑪則更廉價。通常，在經濟低迷時期，沃爾瑪“絕對實惠”的促銷口號總能撥動消費者的心弦。但在本輪經濟衰退期間，這樣做并不足以刺激銷售的增長。實際上，在過去9個季度中，沃爾瑪在美國同店銷售額始終呈現下降趨勢。

????在上周二的財報電話會議上，沃爾瑪首席執行官比爾?西蒙說：為了應對預算緊縮和糧食價格上漲，沃爾瑪的顧客們如今都選擇購買更便宜的品牌和小包裝的產品。與沃爾瑪不同，塔吉特的主要吸引力在于低價格與設計師品牌相結合。但在零售業前景如此黯淡的情況下，這樣的品牌戰略能行得通嗎？

????顯然，它取得了相當大的成功。 “塔吉特擁有這樣的光環。它是個奇妙的購物場所，每個人都喜歡它。” 吉爾夫德證券公司（Gilford Securities）的零售業分析師伯納德?索斯尼克說。

????塔吉特在美國的同店銷售額有所增長，這一點值得自傲，但沃爾瑪卻不能。沃爾瑪的利潤大多來自海外擴張和削減成本，而不是零售投資者希望看到的國內銷售增長。

????但是沃爾瑪的利潤卻沒有縮水。上周二，這家美國最大的公司宣布，公司2011年第二季度利潤比去年同期增長5.7％，達到38億美元。相比之下，塔吉特公司在同一時期的利潤僅為7.04億美元，增幅只有3.7％。

????盡管如此，只要經濟衰退繼續影響在沃爾瑪購買廉價黃油和面包的低收入人群，沃爾瑪也許就得繼續為同店銷售增長率而奮斗。

????光顧塔吉特的顧客中同樣包括低收入人群。但塔吉特已采取措施，獨辟蹊徑。事實上，塔吉特最成功的品牌戰略之一就是避免與沃爾瑪直接對抗，而是在充滿奇思妙想的設計密集型低成本零售空間內開拓自己的地盤，品牌顧問公司“品牌邏輯”（Brandlogic）的高級合伙人丹尼斯?賴尼稱。

????以兩家公司節約成本的舉措為例。沃爾瑪意識到汽油是客戶最為關注的商品之一。因此，公司規定，顧客如果在6-9月使用沃爾瑪信用卡購買汽油便可獲得每加侖10美分的折扣，旨在替顧客分憂。這一舉措的確為沃爾瑪招徠了客源，但并未對美國市場銷售的低迷帶來明顯改觀。

????相反，塔吉特則試圖以更多的現金優惠來吸引消費者。例如，凡使用其REDcard信用卡購物的顧客，無論購買何種商品，一律享有5％的折扣。然而，公司只為具備可靠信用記錄的顧客辦理這種信用卡，自然而然地排除了收入最低的人群。 此外，盡管REDcard有利于促進銷售，但由于人們會利用它來購買更多打折產品，這些商品的銷售利潤率反而受到了影響。

????但這仍然不失為明智之舉。“相比之下，稍稍降低利潤率，并繼續前進、不斷創新，是一種更好的選擇，” 第一全球證券（First Global securities）的分析師瑞提什?多希說。至少就目前而言，塔吉特的創新博得了具有購買力的消費者的歡心。

????另一方面，即便沃爾瑪有意嘗試改變其保守的價值觀，也力不從心。2006年，公司聘請了靚麗的朱莉?羅翰出任首席營銷官，試圖提升自身形象。此舉迅速引發了與公司傳統企業文化之間的沖突，短短10個月以后羅翰就宣告離職。賴尼說，“她到任后做的第一件事，就是把整面墻都刷成了黃綠色，大家都嚇了一跳。”

????但整個零售行業的銷售數據都顯示形勢嚴峻，而就目前來說，有錢購物的人們似乎都被吸引到了顏色稍稍亮麗的購物場所。

????譯者：聶傳言

????Those of us familiar with discount shopping know the Target/Walmart duality well.

????Target stocks its shelves with low-cost bedspreads, shower curtains, and clothes with bright colors and funky designs. Walmart is for the necessities: cheap Cheerios, laundry detergent, bulk meat, paper plates.

????Truth is, Target comes across as more fun, and Walmart as more frugal. And typically, Walmart's all-value, no-nonsense message strikes a chord with consumers during tough economic times. But that hasn't been enough to boost sales growth during this downturn. In fact, Walmart's U.S. same-store sales have been on a decline for the past nine quarters.

????To cope with tighter budgets and increased food prices, Walmart (WMT) customers are buying cheaper brands and smaller packages of products, Walmart CEO Bill Simon said in an earnings call on Tuesday. Unlike Walmart, Target's (TGT) main appeal is a combination of low prices and designer brands. But can a fun brand strategy survive such a gloomy retail outlook?

????It goes a long way, apparently. "Target has this aura. It's a wonderful place to go into and shop and everybody loves Target," says Bernard Sosnick, a retail industry analyst with Gilford Securities.

????Target can also boast an improvement in its same-store sales in the U.S., while Walmart cannot. Walmart's profits have mostly come from overseas expansion and cost-cutting, not the kind of sales growth on home turf that retail investors like to see.

????Not to discount Walmart's profits. On Tuesday, the biggest company in America announced that profits for the second quarter of 2011 increased by 5.7% from last year to $3.8 billion. By comparison, Target's profits increased 3.7% to $704 million during the same time period.

????Still, Walmart will probably struggle with same-store sales growth as long as the recession continues to hurt low-income shoppers, the company's bread and butter consumer group.

????Low-income customers shop at Target too, but the company has taken steps to differentiate itself. In fact, one of its best branding strategies has been to keep from confronting Walmart head-on and, instead, carve out its territory in a whimsical, design-intensive, low-cost retail space, says Denis Riney, a senior partner at brand consultancy firm Brandlogic.

????Take the two companies' cost-savings efforts. Walmart learned that gas was one of the biggest concerns for customers. So the company tried to help them out by offering a 10-cent-per-gallon discount on gas bought with Walmart credit cards between June and September. It helped bring customers to Walmart stores, but couldn't significantly affect slow U.S. sales.

????Target, on the other hand, wants to appeal to consumers with more cash. For example, it started offering customers with its REDcard credit card a 5% discount on all purchases. Only those with solid credit are approved for the card, which often screens out the lowest-income consumers. The REDcard helped boost sales, but because people were using it to buy more products at discounted prices, the profit margin for those sales took a hit.

????Still, it's a sensible strategy. "It's better to take a slight hit on profit margins and keep on moving and inventing," says Ritesh Doshi, an analyst with First Global securities. And at least for now, Target is inventing in a way that appeals to consumers with money to spend.

????Walmart, on the other hand, can't stray from its conservative values even when it tries to. In 2006, the company hired a flashy new chief marketing officer Julie Roehm on staff to spruce up its image. Cultures clashed immediately, and Roehm only lasted 10 months at the job. "The first thing she did when she went down there was she painted a wall chartreuse, and everybody freaked out," Riney says.

????But numbers are grim across the retail sector, and for now, it seems like consumers with money to spend are drawn to a little color.