Anyone looking for more proof that holiday shopping begins earlier has some new statistics to cite: 56.6 percent of those celebrating the holidays had begun shopping by early November, up from 54.4 percent last year and up further from the 49 percent who had started by this time in 2008, the first time the National Retail Federation asked the question.

Retailers with strong omnichannel initiatives stand to capture market share as consumers take advantage of in-store pickup and inventory look-up.

Holiday spending will be higher and over a longer period of time in 2015.

The National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to increase a solid 3.7 percent to $630.5bn - significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent. Holiday sales in 2015 are expected to represent approximately 19 percent of the retail industry’s annual sales of $3.2 tr. Additionally, NRF is forecasting online sales to increase between 6 and 8 percent to as much as $105bn.

While e-commerce sales have been growing, year-to-year declines in conversion and add-to-cart rates are continuing. Retailers need to pay greater attention to personalization and relevant product recommendations to combat these declines and ensure that they remain successful.