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Nielsen pollsters are telling us that 51% of the viewers of Super Bowl XLVI will like the Super Bowl commercials better than the Super Bowl game. If that's really true, then let's hope that those Super Bowl commercial enthusiasts are car lovers, since car company ads will have a dominant presence on the Super Bowl XLVI commercial lineup.

During Super Bowl XLV, Super Bowl commercial fans were treated to more than $70 million of car company commercials. During Super Bowl XLVI, more than one-third of the commercials will be advertising cars, and paying dearly for the privilege.

The car companies that are reportedly paying $3.5 million for 30 seconds of exposure to more than 100 million Super Bowl XLVI viewers are:

• Acura
• Audi
• Cadillac
• Cars.com
• Chevolet
• Chrysler
• Fiat
• Honda
• Hyundai
• Kia
• Lexus
• Suzuki
• Toyota
• Volkswagen

Which auto companies and auto brands will get the best return on the $116,000 per second they're paying for Super Bowl advertising exposure? According to Kelley Blue Book, the Chevrolet Sonic will be the big Super Bowl commercial website traffic winner since the model is new and the car is a subcompact, and the Super Bowl exposure should pique interest in both. But the challenge to all auto Super Bowl advertisers is to stand out from all the other auto ads, which, by the end of the game, are all part of a Super Bowl car commercial blur.

According to a highly scientific Super Bowl XLV Commercials poll, the auto brand that made the biggest impression was also Chevrolet. Although an even more scientific study by marketing firm Zeta Interactive declared Volkswagen the biggest buzz winner amongst the Super Bowl auto advertisers with its Star Wars inspired commercial called "The Force."

There are those who will be interested in the winner of the Super Bowl Car vs. Car advertising game, and those who will be interested in the outcome of the actual New vs. New Super Bowl football game. For both groups, the competition promises to be super.

Click here to take the Super Bowl Super Commercial Super Trivia Quiz >>

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Analysts and investors were greatly disappointed to learn that the fourth quarter revenue of Amazon.com (AMZN) was up, but profits were down. The conclusion by the Wall Street Journal and others after hearing the news about Amazon's disappointing profit numbers was that Amazon is spending faster than it is earning, and therefore is not a very good investment. This reaction says a lot about short-sighted investment profiteers and nothing about the business savvy of the retail industry leader who has defined Internet retailing.

When Amazon deliberately shrinks its profit margins on electronics by cutting prices so low that offline electronics retailers have difficulty competing, retail leaders at specialty stores like Best Buy (BBY), and Radio Shack (RSH) are forced to change their product mix and business model to stay alive. With every sale of an unprofitable Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com not only ensures unlimited future digital business, it also steals future digital business away from the rival Barnes and Noble (BKS) Nook, and sends one of the last standing retail bookstore chains shopping for a Nook business line buyer. When Amazon shows signs of getting into the Sporting Goods business, Dick's (DKS), Cabela's (CAB), and Sports Authority start shaking in their brick and mortar boots.

If Amazon can make any profit at all while pinning major competitors against the retail ropes at the same time, the Internet retail company is to be commended, not condemned. Those who think that Amazon's spend-now-profit-later strategy is not sound obviously don't know Jeff Bezos at all. Present-day actions which eventually result in future profits is what Jeff Bezos is all about.

Personally I applaud the decision of Amazon's leaders to forego present-day profits in order to ensure future success. And not just because I'm a big Jeff Bezos fan (which I am), and not just because I own shares of Amazon stock (which I do), but because solid long-term business strategies are abandoned all too often in the pursuit of the approval of short-term Wall Street profiteers.

it's not just nice to see Jeff Bezos doing business in a different way. It's nice to see him succeeding in a different way.

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When Wal-Mart (WMT) announced that it would be repositioning its legendary Wal-Mart greeters away from the front of the store and station them instead in high-traffic areas inside the store, retail industry and customer service experts immediately took it as a sign that Wal-Mart was abandoning its customer service values, and the Wal-Mart customer experience would become one of a cold, big box store without a soul. The power that critics have assigned to one employee to set the tone in a a store the size of a typical Wal-Mart filled with the number of employees on duty in a typical Wal-mart is as laughable as the notion that Wal-Mart is anything besides a cold, big box store anyway.

Wal-Mart's company mission statement makes it clear that it has one primary focus - money. And the Wal-Mart mission statement also infers that its target customer base is comprised of people who share one primary focus - money. It's not that Wal-Mart's focus is changing, it's that the frivolous, smiley Wal-Mart non-revenue producing Wal-Mart greeter can't be justified within the framework of the company's saving money focus.

In their new high-traffic location, Wal-Mart greeters have the opportunity to assist in the sales process, and therefore prove their value. In essence, Wal-Mart greeters will become mobile help desks, easily accessible to customers who need real assistance to make real purchases. To me, that is much more of an asset to the Wal-Mart customer experience than the fleeting greeting at the front door.

Disney (DIS) is also a company that is legendary for its greeters, posting a person outside of almost every attraction and near the front of every retail store to interact with guests and create some interpersonal magic. But even Disney knew that these greeters could multi-task for the good of the operation too. So Disney greeters are also responsible for direction-giving, queue-moving, trash removal and stroller parking. The presence was still felt and appreciated by the guests, but the extra services rendered also had a positive impact on the overall guest experience. (I say all of this in the present tense, assuming that Disney greeters still exist in Disney theme parks and Disney stores.)

So the hubbub about the repositioning of the Wal-Mart greeter is not more than just something to talk about. I can't imagine anybody ever chose to shop at Wal-Mart just because there was a senior citizen greeter standing outside saying hello. And I can't imagine anybody is going to not shop at Wal-Mart because they have to retrieve their own shopping cart without the assistance of a cart-handling greeter person.

Greeter or no greeter is just not that important. The real challenge with the sales struggles that Wal-Mart has been having is connected to their price-centric mission statement. If your brand essence is about low prices, then your clientele is going to be price motivated. But price-motivated consumers do not make loyal customers because they can be easily lured away by competitors dangling even lower prices in their faces.

Given a choice between the low prices with a greeter and low prices without a greeter, most price-sensitive shoppers are going to make their purchase decisions based on the lowness of the low prices. Unless there's a greeter at the door handing out something free. That would be motivating.

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With high retail space vacancy rates, low commercial real estate prices, and the promise of economic recovery, store openings were the name of the retail game for the U.S. retail industry in 2011. (Click here for a complete list of 2011 store openings.) The predictions for the coming year, however, include economic uncertainty, political tension, and spend-wary consumers. So it's a wonder that any U.S. retail chain is brave enough to invest in any new store opening in 2012.

Whether they're brave, shrewd, or just delusional, there are plenty of U.S. retail chains that have announced plans to expand and open new stores in 2012. So far Wal-Mart tops the 2012 Store Openings List, with O'Reilly Auto Parts and Advance Auto Parts not far behind with triple-digit store openings planned in 2012. Apparently there is a belief that there will be a lot more car fixing than there is car trading and car buying in the future for Americans.

So far, there are plenty of retail chains that seem to have no plans to open new stores in 2012. But the year is young and the Store Opening announcements usually come along with the year-end reporting in January and February, so undoubtedly the list will grow.

For a complete roundup of 2012 Store Opening announcements and predictions for 2012, click here >>

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