Holiday 2010 Shopping Trends: Surgical, Social and Sumptuous

Measure your social media investments using the key performance indicators of retail — sales, orders, conversions and the number of visitors that engaged with your social marketing efforts and then became customers. Don’t rely solely on social media metrics such as your number of "fans" or "likes."

Luxury Makes a Comeback
Even as consumers are turning to their favorite social sites for deals, they're also leaning more toward spending on luxury items. High-end retailers are seeing an increase in sales over the holiday season vs. last year. Overall, sales are up 13.4 percent. The jewelry market alone has seen a huge jump from 2009, with a 103 percent increase in sales.