The official start to the holiday shopping season drew bleak numbers for retailers pushing the big Black Friday buildup.

Analytics can provide retailers with the ultimate insight into their customers. Monitoring in-store movement can yield specific information about consumer behavior, shopping habits and patterns.

Retailers are scaling back on holiday help for the 2013 season.

Amazon.com is planning a large-scale launch of online grocery sales, according to a report from Reuters. It brings with it the first serious online competition for traditional grocery chains.

With Black Friday becoming Black Thursday and Friday (and even Black Wednesday – Friday), crowd management is key to surviving the shopping holiday – for both retailers and customers.