Positive US macroeconomic conditions will contribute to the first-ever $1 trillion holiday season, but retailers facing a series of headwinds should pay attention to seven key trends that will determine their ultimate success.

More than two-thirds of shoppers (68%) surveyed in RetailMeNot’s annual Holiday Insights guide said this year’s compressed holiday shopping season will change the way they shop. About one-third (34%) said they will start looking for deals earlier than they did last year, and 28% plan to start buying gifts sooner than they did in 2018.

2018 was a banner year for US holiday retail sales across both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce. But with more economic uncertainty ahead, the 2019 holiday season is not shaping up to be quite as strong.

Generating $3.7 billion in online sales in 2018 while boasting an impressive 28% year-over-year growth rate, Thanksgiving cemented its status as its own online shopping phenomenon.

eMarketer's "Do You Have a Second?" is a mini-podcast that offers a quick hit of the latest digital data. Today, we’re talking about online returns for the holiday season, apparel discounting over the Thanksgiving shopping period and consumers' resolutions for the New Year.

In the latest episode of “Behind the Numbers,” retail analyst Andrew Lipsman joins us in the studio to dig into some of the shopping data from Thanksgiving weekend. What’s selling? Who’s buying? And where are they buying?

US retail ecommerce sales for the holiday season thus far (Nov. 1 through Nov. 26) generated $58.5 billion, a 19.9% increase from last year, according to research from Adobe.

In a special holiday episode of eMarketer's "Behind the Numbers," hosts Marcus Johnson and Ezra Palmer consider some of the year's key digital developments—GDPR, e-sports, Amazon Go stores and more—and ask a simple question: "Should we be thankful for this?"

As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, the holiday shopping season is kicking into overdrive. Retailers are ready for the surge in consumer spending on Black Friday, but what shopper behaviors should they expect? We break down three key trends for the holiday weekend.

Online shopping has become a sport during Thanksgiving week and beyond, and it's also starting to play a role in the holiday meal itself. In many ways, the convenience of buying groceries online seems well-suited for larger-than-usual gatherings, even if it is used by only a small number of consumers.

Singles’ Day is the world’s biggest shopping event, and Black Friday is just around the corner. Holiday shopping is a major driver of retail and ecommerce around the world, but spending and which holidays drive the most activity vary by region.

Even with the ubiquity of digital buying, the in-store shopping experience continues to have importance. And even more so with younger consumers.

Fueled by low unemployment, strong income growth and high consumer confidence, the holiday shopping season this year will be a strong one for retailers in the US. In its holiday retail forecast, eMarketer has raised its projections from its Q3 2018 forecast, specifically for ecommerce sales and brick-and-mortar retailers.

Retailers believe that early birds and primetime shoppers are the most important holiday audience. Procrastinators? Not so much.

A positive US macroeconomic backdrop points to strong growth across every retail channel, but retailers should pay attention to seven key trends that will determine their ultimate success for the 2018 holiday season.

For the 2018 holiday season, eMarketer expects total US retail sales to grow 4.1% to $986.8 billion, with ecommerce jumping 16.2% to $123.4 billion.

More than half of respondents (54%) plan to shop for premium groceries this holiday season, according to a recent survey from Accenture.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, holiday shoppers have 32 days to complete their gift-giving checklists. This is the most time retailers will ever have, and it only happens every seven years. Dawn Erksa, senior director of marketing for The Home Depot spoke with eMarketer's Danielle Drolet about the home improvement giant's upcoming seasonal plans.

As we coast into October, the holiday season is just on the horizon. What changes in shopping behavior can retailers expect this year?