Has House of Fraser lost the plot? Its Twitter account has come over all tired and emoji-nal

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House of Fraser's social media managers seemed to be feeling the love this morning when Twitter users thought someone had hacked into the retailer's account.

The store began posting a string of emojis and artistically Photoshopped snaps of celebrities…

The brand's followers didn't know what to think. Some thought the account had been hacked, while others reckoned the social media manager had just come in from a night out.

The good news, for House of Fraser customers, is it's not a hack: the company said it is testing out some new marketing ideas ahead of Valentine's Day, on the back of research at Bangor University that claims 18-25 year olds find it easier to express emotions through emojis than with normal human contact.

House of Fraser said the new house style will take over all of its Facebook and Twitter accounts for the next two weeks. 

A spokesperson for the store said: "we wanted to try something less traditional for Valentine's Day this year in order to engage with a younger audience".

The Capitalist wonders whether the retail giant's owner Yuan Yafei is a fan of the initiative? The Chinese tycoon showed a keen interest in buying iconic toy shop Hamleys last summer. The store is being eyed up by a relative of the Chinese entrepreneur now, but maybe Yafei can tap into his inner child this way instead…

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