Brother vs Staples

Brother Announces Support for Nepal Flood Relief and Recognition in IDC MarketScape

Brother's news page now features a September 18, 2026 announcement about support for Nepal flood relief, and a September 16, 2026 announcement that Brother was named a 'Leader' in the IDC MarketScape for Sustainability Programs and Services Hardcopy for the second time.

Ten Most Memorable Back-to-School Ad Campaigns

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.
• Sandy Hook Promise’s 2019 'Back-to-School Essentials' film (created by BBDO New York) reached 26 million views in 24 hours on $37,000 of paid media and won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial.

Parents increasingly use BNPL for back-to-school shopping

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.
• About 40% of parents expect to be more financially stressed this back-to-school season than last year.

Staples, Dollar General Match 2025 Back-to-School Prices

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.
• Dollar General is pricing more than 70 back-to-school products at $1 or less, offering teachers 30% off stationery through Sept. 7, and running an Instagram sweepstakes where 20 educators will win $250 gift cards.