Digital Marketing

When U.S. retailers launch global e-commerce efforts, they often start with countries that have a long-standing trade history with America. Shipments to Canada are soon followed by expansion into the United Kingdom, Australia or other English-speaking areas.

Some organizations stick with this strategy — where few barriers to entry, cultural similarities and overall market understanding provide for a “safe” selling environment.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples is changing its logo by removing the bent staple that forms the “L” in “Staples.” Initially, Staples is excluding the bent staple in its logo in a number of places, including its e-commerce site and the company's social channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and the easyBlog.

New research from NPD conducted during the 2013 holiday season suggests shoppers believe better deals are to be had online than in stores.

That not good news for retailers under relentless pressure to generate store traffic with all manner of urgency oriented promotions such as the ubiquitous one-day sale or other types of limited duration activities.

A decade after Staples made the phrase, “that was easy,” part of the American lexicon, the company is changing how it communicates with consumers and revising its brand logo.

Plano, Texas -- Pizza Hut will offer 50% off any medium or large pizza ordered online from Jan. 1-10. The online promotion marks the 20th anniversary of Pizza Hut offering online ordering via its “PizzaNet” digital ordering hub.

Participants will also join the brand's "Hut Lovers" program, which provides members with other exclusive deals. Pizza Hut is launching a YouTube ad featuring 1990s pop artists Ace of Base as part of the promotion.

OnlyLeggings.com is borrowing a page from the playbook of Costco and Amazon to create a membership-based program to appeal to those who regularly purchase leg wear.

Birmingham, Ala. — Online meal planning service eMeals is offering retailer-specific make-at-home menus of 500 calories or less per serving as part of its new Low Calorie Menu Plan. Consumers can specify a store such as Aldi, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Target, Walmart or Whole Foods to take advantage of sale prices that help shape eMeals' weekly menus.

Digital coupons may get all the publicity, but SmartSource isn’t buying the hype as evidenced by what it said was a record-setting coupon drop on Sunday, January 5.

Parent company News America Marketing said the Sunday, January 5 edition of its SmartSource publication was the largest in its history with up to three inserts required in some markets to deliver up to 136 pages of coupons.