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Leading analysts like Forrester and Deloitte predict that online retail sales in both November and December will increase double-digits year-over-year. This might come at a steep price for smaller retailers however because of increased competition among merchants in the form of aggressive discounting, free shipping and other promotional offers. With holiday sales accounting for as much as 30 percent of total annual revenue for some businesses, it's time for e-commerce merchants to up their game.

Holiday shopping is about to kick into high gear, and retailers are ramping up efforts to capture sales at multiple touchpoints, not just their stores. Google's retail team, in fact, is calling this the first "Nonline" shopping season, contending that consumers, accompanied by smartphones wherever they shop, no longer see a divide between online and offline shopping, and neither do savvy retailers. In a survey of 1,500 consumers, Google found that four out of five mobile and tablet owners plan to use their devices as part of holiday shopping.

The stats, from a DBD Media survey of 50 e-commerce retailers, revealed that 73 percent of businesses are inflating traffic in their reports, while 67 percent haven't integrated social media tracking. Here are some stats from the survey, while the findings from our Online Measurement and Strategy report shed some light on the barriers to effective use of Google Analytics.

Shoppers are savvier than ever. They use social recommendations, web searches and smartphone apps to make informed purchase decisions. So how can a retailer stand out and get a shopper's attention? Today, we're rolling out a new way for retailers to reach shoppers at the moment of interest. Retailers can now add promotions to their product listings on Google Shopping to make them stand out. In addition, they can distribute their promotions on other Google properties such as Google Maps for Android and the Google Offers app, and attract shoppers to their store.

On the heels of the new site redesign it launched earlier this week, Reuters reports eBay has also been quietly testing out a new service called eBay Lifestyle Deals that puts it squarely in competition with Groupon. The service, which is doing limited runs in metro areas including the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., is another example of a large company targeting the local deals market. In that sense, eBay is more making a direct play at Google Offers and AmazonLocal than at Groupon itself.

For online retailers, the holiday season can make up 40 percent of their annual revenue. Don't let anything prevent you from getting in on the act. Consumers continue to shift more of their wallet share online during the holidays, increasing traffic year over year. Even if you're not selling directly online, traffic to your site may increase because people are searching more during this busy time. Website performance is always important, but especially important — and challenging — during the holiday season.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding mobile payments, but is it just that? In general, consumers have been slow to embrace the technology. With no definitive leader in the mobile payment space, the fact that there are so many options available to consumers only seems to add to the confusion. And let’s face it, is it really that much easier to pay with a phone? What do companies like Google, PayPal and the like have to do to convince consumers to put away the plastic and pull out their mobile phone? Head over to Retail Online Integration's Twitter page to join the discussion.

As the crucial holiday e-tailing season approaches, Google is pulling out all the stops to get merchants on board to the new pay-for-play Google Shopping. The company announced that it will switch to all paid listings as of Oct. 17. Previously, Google product results were fueled by product feeds provided by merchants, at no charge. Back in May, Google announced Shopping results would come from paid product listing ads only, citing a need for more reliable and up-to-date data.

There are many ways to get visitors to you website, including a search engine optimization program, pay per click, email marketing, social media programs, blog sites or just handing out your business card that has your website address on it. However, what visitors do once they get to your website is just as important as getting them there. If you finally landed that business meeting you've been trying to get for a year and showed up in shorts, a T-shirt and tennis shoes, what's your chance of a successful outcome?  

Everyone from Google to every major cell carrier in the U.S. really, really wants consumers to start paying for things in stores with their mobile phones. And yet adoption of the technology in the U.S. has been slow. Similar "mobile wallets" have been available in Japan since 2004, and yet by the end of 2010, in a typical month only 10 percent of Japanese consumers were using their phones to make a purchase. So what's wrong with people?