With the US unemployment rate currently at 7.3%, rates falling in 28 out of 50 states, and an increase in non-farm payroll, what impact will this have on the upcoming holiday season? Retailers are doing whatever they can to increase revenues whether its opening on Thanksgiving, not opening on Thanksgiving, offering online deals or starting those deals a week early. The National Retail Federation projects 2013 holiday spending to increase 3.9% to $602 per the NRF.1 billion based on the fact that over the last 10 years holiday sales have increased 3.3 on average. Over the last 5 years, consumers have done more of their shopping online than in brick and mortar stores much to the delight of Fedex and UPS and this explains why Amazon decided to offer Sunday shipping. 55.9% of US Smartphone owners shop on their phone so it makes sense that advertisers are trying to capitalize on different avenues of marketing whether its websites, mobile sites or plain old ads in newspapers. Even Twitter that now has something to prove after its recent IPO is trying to show investors its worth. Twitter ads can react in real-time to specific keywords and this study shows 78% of Twitter users are more likely to shop if they see a Tweet about a sale for Black Friday. Retailers aren't taking a chance as they know this is the shortest holiday shopping season in a decade during a time when the economy isn't at its best, but at a time when there are so many avenues through which to market and which to shop!