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The U.S. Postal Service resumed international mail service to the nation of Haiti today as efforts to restore limited postal services gain momentum in the wake of the devastating earthquake in January that destroyed much of Haiti Post's infrastructure and service capacity. A temporary hold issued Jan. 15 for mail accepted for delivery to Haiti has been lifted, and air transport of international letters and packages from the U.S. has resumed, allowing mail volumes to begin flowing to Haiti as airlift and operational capacity expand. The U.S. Postal Service has continued to accept mail for Haiti and held it for delivery at five International Service Centers. Over 2,000 pounds of international mail will be entered into Haiti throughout the week.

Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.8 promotional emails on average during the week ending Apr. 30, 2010. That’s up 3 percent week-over-week, up 2 percent from where it was four weeks ago, and up 12 percent year-over-year.

We've discussed in previous posts how marketers can independently better measure and understand their cross-channel activities, but increasingly retailers are recognizing the importance and benefit of leveraging partnerships with other retailers, manufacturers and merchandisers. We have solicited advice from two industry experts, Tom Bartley, President of TAB Consulting and Tyler Murray, Global Digital Practice Lead at Saatchi & Saatchi X — both of whom have lived and breathed cooperative marketing through working with a variety of brands. In this 4-min recap video, Tyler and Tom discuss the unique opportunities and challenges that online co-op brings: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVXIMf2H8dE

Big Lots is welcoming a step-up in consumer spending, feeling that its deep discount approach will resonate even more. "We're definitely a fan of an improving economic environment," said Big Lots Chief Financial Officer Joe Cooper. The road is clearer to open more upscale outlets, merchandise is still easy to come by and demand goes up, Cooper said. Big Lots and other lower-end retailers benefited during the recession as consumers traded down. The big question is how their business will fare when the economy recovers.

Jones Apparel is mulling acquisitions as it looks to expand its stable of brands. The New York clothing conglomerate — which already owns labels like Nine West, Anne Klein and l.e.i. — may scoop up more brands this year, CEO Wes Card told The Post.

Five Below, the dynamic new retailer targeting teens, pre-teens and beyond, announced today that it will open six stores in the Greater Cleveland area as part of a chain-wide expansion that will see the retailer open 40 new stores by year-end. The new stores are scheduled to open in June 2010, and are part of an aggressive growth plan to approximately double in size over the next two years. Five Below anticipates the new stores will bring more than 200 new jobs to the region.

ABC says plus size retailer Lane Bryant’s claims that the network refused to air a commercial featuring a model in lingerie are no more than a fabricated publicity stunt. Following a war of words where the retailer claimed the network was discriminating against full figured women by refusing to air the lingerie commercial, ABC issued a statement saying they did not treat Lane Bryant any differently than another advertiser.

The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for entries for its 14th annual international WebAward competition. The WebAwards are the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site. It recognizes the individual and team achievements of Web professionals who create and maintain outstanding Web sites. The deadline for entry in the 2010 WebAwards is May 25, 2010. A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webawards.org.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. became the largest retailer by building sprawling stores in suburbs and rural towns. But now it is exploring opening a number of small outposts to penetrate the nation's cities and fight the spread of no-frills grocery chains, which are luring away some of its core customers. It is one of several recent statements by Wal-Mart declaring that its U.S. expansion will center less on its warehouse-sized Supercenters and more on far smaller urban stores, as well as condensed locations where consumers can pick up merchandise they order online.

What's worse than having to pay sales taxes in every state? Having to report to every state every purchase your customers your customers have made so the taxing authorities can start chasing your customers down and ordering them to pay back taxes.