<"http://subastralinc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Christmas-Mall.jpg">Christmas Mall

According to the National Retail Association, American consumers are expected to shell out $682 billion in holiday shopping this year. That works out to be around $660 per consumer on average, though millennials will spend less ($431), while baby boomers will spend more on average ($800). And given the current state of the economy; unemployment is down, wages are up, and the Consumer Confidence Index has hit its highest levels in 17 years there are indications that this year could go even better than planned for retailers in terms of holiday shopping.

However, while $682 billion is quite a good chunk of money, that isn't to say that the holidays will be equally happy for all retailers this year. It turns out, more and more customers are planning to skip the stores altogether and head straight to the web to make their holiday purchases. A full 84% of shoppers plan to do their holiday shopping online this year, and this year is expected to be the first year that online sales in the holiday shopping season (defined as November and December) exceed $100 billion.

The dynamic is shifting dramatically towards an online shopping-from-your-couch experience, David Bassuk, co-head of retail for consultancy AlixPartners recently told the Financial Times. It's no surprise that traffic is way down in the stores, and even in the store [shoppers] are using their phones to check prices.

Major department stores like Nordstrom, JCPenney, Macy's, and Sears will suffer the most from the lack of foot traffic. Others, however, are trying to adjust. Walmart, for example, has tripled the number of items it sells online in preparation for this year's holiday shopping, trying to poise itself to compete with online retail giant Amazon.

The bottom line? The holidays won't be equally happy for all retailers out there. Online retailers are likely to do well and benefit from customers increased desire to shop from the comfort of their own homes on a smartphone. Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, however, are likely to continue to struggle.