Home delivery is shaping up to be the sticky widget in retailers' toolboxes this holiday season - and one that could affect customer loyalty for a long time to come - as half of all consumers won't give merchants a second chance following a disappointing online experience.

Walmart has been privately testing drones inside facilities and is now seeking permission from federal regulators to test them outdoors for various uses, including home delivery.

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

RetailNext has predicted a positive U.S. retail performance for the months of November through December. Over the holidays, sales are expected to rise 2.8 percent, driven in large part by an exceptional 16.2 percent increase in digital sales.

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

A growing number of consumers go to Amazon first when shopping for online products. According to a Survata study, commissioned by BloomReach, 44 percent of shoppers go straight to Amazon, beating out the 34 percent who go direct to search engines and 21 percent who go directly to a retailer's e-commerce site.