'Tis the season for holiday shopping, and a new report from eMarketer indicates that ecommerce will increase this year.

'Tis the season for holiday shopping, and a report from eMarketer indicates that ecommerce will increase this year. In its report, Online Holiday Sales Forecast: Optimism is in the Air, the firm predicts that online sales for November and December will increase by 14.3 percent over the same period in 2009.

If eMarketer's calculations are correct, 2010 retail ecommerce holiday sales in this two-month period will hit $38.5 billion. This is a strong improvement over last year, when online holiday sales were $33.7 billion.

Jeffrey Grau, author of the report, suggests that consumers will spend more readily in the recovering economic climate, but they will still be price-focused. "Online consumers have become savvy at finding coupons, comparing prices, locating cheaper product alternatives and exchanging shopping tactics and information about bargains with peers through social media," he says.

With this in mind, marketers may want to consider marketing content that emphasizes bargains, as well as socially-targeted promotions, this season.

Sending relevant content to consumers' inboxes may also be helpful. As Brafton recently reported, a survey reveals that CMOs think email marketing campaigns will translate into sales for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping days.

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are likely foremost on marketers' minds, it's important to remember that the following week is an important shopping period. Holiday shopping sales spiked during "Peak Week" – the first week in December – last year.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.