This winter holiday season is already shaping up as different for the nation’s retail business owners with special promotions and marketing began earlier than ever before. Overall retail holiday sales are expected to be flat to slightly down this year as consumers struggle with the recession, but US online holiday retail sales are projected to rise 8 percent to $44.7 billion, according to new numbers from Forrester Research.

While, the National Retail Federation has projected a one percent decline in overall US holiday retail sales for this year, Forrester finds online retail will be the ‘growth engine’ for this holiday shopping season.

Overall retail sales are expected to show no gain from a year ago, but U.S. online retail sales will reach $44.7 billion this Christmas, an 8 percent gain over 2008, Forrester’s analysts predict. That compares to the 5 percent increase in online holiday retail sales a year ago.

Forrester said online retailers will try to balance consumer demand with profitability. Online retailers will require certain price thresholds are met to qualify for free shipping, instead of automatically offering free shipping. SBTV.com offers a variety of free success videos on free shipping, shipping and online sales for small firms, and how to handle Web returns in a small retail business.  Online retailers also will try to engage customers with more product information and beefed-up social networking, Forrester officials predict.  SBTV.com is constantly developing social media resources to help small business owners and self-employed professionals stay ahead of the competition including this video case study of successful small social media entrepreneurs!  

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