Staples
Office supplies retailer with B2B procurement and retail media operations.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- Staples, Inc.
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 1986
- Headquarters
- Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
- Company size
- >5,000
- Market role
- Retailer & Marketplace
- Official website
- staples.com
What Staples does
Staples uses a hybrid commerce-and-services model. It creates value by aggregating office and workplace demand from consumers, small businesses and enterprises, then fulfilling that demand through retail and procurement channels. It extends this base with adjacent services such as print, design, direct mail and digital marketing, and monetises its owned demand and audience data through a retail media offering for brands. The model benefits from repeat purchase behaviour in consumable office categories and from enterprise procurement integrations that can increase account stickiness.
Category differentiation
This is the office products retailer and B2B procurement company, not the physical fastening product. It also operates a retail media offering, but it is not a pure-play adtech vendor.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
Staples is a large office products retailer and business procurement provider headquartered in the United States. Its core business is selling workplace supplies, technology products and related services through e-commerce, mobile, stores and enterprise purchasing programmes. Beyond retail transactions, it also operates Staples Advantage for organisational procurement, print and marketing services for businesses and consumers, a loyalty programme, and recurring replenishment services. Staples also monetises its commerce audience through Staples Media Network, which sells on-site advertising and audience targeting to brands using the company’s first-party shopper data. As a result, Staples generates revenue from product margin, contracted B2B purchasing relationships, recurring orders, service fees and advertising spend from brands seeking access to its shopper base.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
Staples is expanding its employee creator programme to drive social content and affiliate revenue while launching the 'Hard vs. Easy' B2B brand campaign to reposition the retailer as an enterprise solutions provider. Continuing its value-driven approach following competitive back-to-school pricing strategies, the company is leveraging its supply chain and digital channels to target B2B growth.
Business model & monetisation
Staples monetises through product sales with retail margin as the core revenue engine, supplemented by contract-based B2B procurement revenue through Staples Advantage. It drives recurring purchasing via AutoRestock subscriptions and retention-oriented loyalty mechanics through Easy Rewards. It also earns project or campaign fees from print, design, direct mail and marketing services. A further monetisation layer comes from retail media, where brands pay for sponsored placements, audience targeting and campaign measurement across Staples-owned commerce properties.
- Office and workplace product sales
- Retail margin on commerce transactions
- Enterprise procurement contracts
- Contract pricing and account-based purchasing revenue
- Print, design and marketing services
- Project fees and service charges
- Retail media advertising
- Brand-funded ad spend for placements and targeting
- Recurring replenishment programmes
- Subscription-driven repeat commerce
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Products & market categories
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Staples Launches 'Hard vs. Easy' B2B Brand Campaign
Marketing · Recorded impact score: 2/5
Staples is launching a new full-funnel advertising campaign called 'Hard vs. Easy' to spotlight its enterprise-level B2B services and celebrate its 40th anniversary. The campaign introduces a black 'hard button' as a dark alter ego to the iconic red 'easy button,' humorously depicting workplace mishaps solved by Staples' solutions. The ads will run across streaming services like YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix, as well as social platforms and out-of-home placements. Chief Marketing Officer Bob Sherwin, who joined in June of last year, aims to shift perception from Staples as a retail store to a comprehensive B2B solutions provider, leveraging its supply chain and same-day delivery capabilities. The campaign was created in-house with support from agencies Bandits & Friends and Monks.
- Staples launched a new 'Hard vs. Easy' full-funnel B2B campaign featuring a black hard button alter ego.
- The campaign includes ads on YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, LinkedIn, Meta, out-of-home billboards, and digital signage.
Ten Most Memorable Back-to-School Ad Campaigns
Creative & Production · Recorded impact score: 2/5
The Drum published a feature listing ten notable back-to-school advertising campaigns, spanning retailers and charities such as Staples, Old Navy, JCPenney, Target, Sandy Hook Promise and The Diana Award. The piece highlights creative approaches — from parent-focused humor and child-directed work to shock-value PSAs and cause-driven activations — and cites measurable outcomes like view counts, recall rates, donation commitments and sales uplifts that demonstrate long-term impact beyond seasonal selling.
- The Drum published a list of 10 notable back-to-school ad campaigns on 2026-08-17.
- Staples’ 1994 'It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' campaign won a Clio and an Effie; later revivals achieved up to 56% unaided recall.
Parents increasingly use BNPL for back-to-school shopping
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) · Recorded impact score: 2/5
A survey by Omnisend of 1,075 U.S. consumers found rising reliance on buy now, pay later (BNPL) for back-to-school purchases: 45% of households plan to use BNPL this season, up from 39% in 2025. About 40% of parents expect to be more financially stressed compared with last year. Nearly 20% of respondents expect to spend more than $1,000 on back-to-school items, and 44% anticipate spending over $500. Omnisend reports nearly one in three households expect BNPL to cover over half of school spending. To fund purchases, parents plan measures including cutting family activities, using credit, dipping into other savings or borrowing from friends/family.
- Omnisend surveyed 1,075 U.S. consumers about back-to-school spending.
- 45% of households plan to use BNPL for back-to-school purchases in 2026, up from 39% in 2025.
Staples, Dollar General Match 2025 Back-to-School Prices
Retailer & Marketplace · Recorded impact score: 2/5
Staples and Dollar General launched their 2026 back-to-school promotions, holding prices roughly in line with 2025. Staples said it will offer 50 items under $1, 95 items under $2 and more than 750 items under $10, plus in-store and online freebies with qualifying purchases through Sept. 12 and a one-time 20% off in-store coupon for teachers. Dollar General said it is pricing more than 70 products at $1 or less, is offering teachers 30% off stationery through Sept. 7, and is running an Instagram sweepstakes awarding 20 educators $250 each. Staples highlighted electronics such as laptops starting at $249.99 and monitors from $79.99. JLL data cited in the article shows U.S. back-to-school budgets rose ~11.7% to $489 per child in 2026, a shift Toward middle-income households, and BTIG analyst Janine Stichter commented on implications for BTS-levered retailers.
- Staples said it will offer 50 items under $1, 95 items under $2, and over 750 items under $10 for back-to-school, per a press release.
- Staples will provide freebies in stores and online with qualifying purchases through Sept. 12 and is giving teachers a one-time 20% off in-store coupon.
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Questions about Staples
What is Staples?
Staples is an office products retailer and business procurement provider that also offers print, marketing, loyalty and retail media services.
Who uses Staples?
Consumers, small businesses, enterprise procurement teams, institutions, and brands advertising to Staples shoppers use its products and services.
How does Staples make money?
Staples earns money from retail product margin, B2B procurement contracts, recurring replenishment, service fees for print and marketing, and advertising revenue from its retail media network.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
17 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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