There's a new item on McDonald's menus these days: the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, a breaded chicken breast garnished with two pickles that comes in breakfast or lunch form-exactly like the signature sandwich at Chick-Fil-A. The Atlanta-based chain is not pleased, but it's also not planning to do anything about it. For now.

That's because imitation (rip-offs) is rampant in the fast-food industry. The Taco Bell value menu gave rise to the Wendy's Super Value Menu, the McDonald's Dollar Menu and the Burger King Value Menu. And the Angus beef burger from Back Yard Burgers yielded similar items at McDonald's, Burger King and Hardee's.

It's also because Chick-Fil-A has nowhere near the marketing budget of McDonald's and can't afford to retaliate. "Why would we not pointedly come back and try to communicate something about Chick-fil-A versus McDonald's?" said a spokeswoman. "The answer is we simply do not have the media resources to get into that contest. We're not going there." Read the whole story...

How do you get reluctant consumers to choose your service over that of a much more popular rival? Pay them! At least that's the approach Microsoft is taking now that its pursuit of Yahoo is in doubt and its share of the search market continues to dwindle.

The program, called Live Search cashback, is part of a plan to come up with new approaches to areas of the search business where they see opportunities to make inroads against Google, the market leader. Consumers who eventually make purchases online after searching for some products through Microsoft will receive cash back. Microsoft estimates that product purchases account for about one-third of all online searches.

On Wednesday, comScore reported that Google's share of all searches in the United States grew once again in April, to 61.6%, from 59.8% in March. Google gained at the expense of Yahoo and Microsoft, which experienced declines in search share, Yahoo to 20.4%, Microsoft to 9.1%. Read the whole story...

As rising fuel costs drag down airline profits, American Airlines is instituting a $15 fee for every bag a customer checks. The fee will be in effect for all tickets bought after June 15. The nation's largest airline is also cutting back service and capacity.

While consumers are likely to react with outrage at the new fee, analysts expect other airlines to follow American's lead. United Airlines has already announced that it is "seriously studying" a new baggage fee.

The new fees and reductions in capacity could lead to an airline industry that looks much different than what Americans are used to, with fewer seats available on fewer flights for more money. "The airline industry as it is constituted today was not built for $125 [per barrel] or $135 oil," Gerard Arpey, American's chief executive, told reporters. "It can't continue in its present state." Read the whole story...

Few would consider delivery chains like Pizza Hut and Papa John's to be Web 2.0 businesses, but the two are now locked in a battle for superior responsiveness online. Easy-to-use Web sites are no longer enough, as both chains this week have rolled out widgets that allow consumers to place orders without even opening a Web browser.

Papa John's downloadable myPapa applications, which can be placed anywhere from one's desktop to start pages in iGoogle or My Yahoo to MySpace and Facebook, allow consumers to click on the pizza box widget icon and place an order that will be sent to their nearest Papa John's location. Pizza Hut's mini-app also lets customers order quickly, reorder stored favorites from a "Pizza Playlist" and build custom orders.

Phone sales still rule at the nation's pizzerias, but online sales are becoming a crucial channel as well. Earlier this month Papa John's announced that it reached $1 billion in online sales since it first started taking orders over the Internet in 2001. Pizza Hut was quoted in a May 7 Associated Press report as saying that its online orders have grown six fold in the last three years, without giving dollar values. Read the whole story...

Luxury retailer Cartier has a new approach to marketing its high-end wares: Tupperware parties. It's probably not a comparison the legendary French company would appreciate, but the private-home exhibitions of baubles and treasures have become a necessity in an age when luxury has become mass-produced.

These days, Cartier is better known for its heavily advertised "Love" bracelets and watches-as well as the accessories that please investors: sunglasses, handbags, pens, lighters. But while such products help satisfy stock holders, they don't do the band's image any favors with the uber-wealthy.

Which is why Cartier is now putting extra effort into courting-or "aggressively stalking"-those who can afford a $150,000 bracelet. Read the whole story...

Read the whole story...

Read the whole story...