Online holiday season sales will reach $30.0 billion (excluding travel) in 2009, up 5.4% over 2008. Although this is tepid growth compared with the double-digit rates seen for most of this decade, it is a strong improvement over last year’s 5.7% decline and signals a brighter outlook.

To ensure they get their share of sales, Web retailers have been refocusing on the basics behind a good shopping experience by improving Website usability, enriching product information and communicating better with customers. They are also resorting to proven marketing tactics such as paid search and e-mail promotions to drive traffic to their sites. Retailers are challenged to balance these efforts against the pressures of controlling costs and matching competitors’ aggressive price promotions.

Key questions this reports answers:

What is the outlook for online holiday sales this year?
How has the recession changed online shopping behavior?
How are online retailers