There’s no doubt that putting presents under the Christmas tree this year will pose a challenge for many Americans. On the flip side, it’s going to be an interesting year for retailers, too. Many retail businesses will struggle to make numbers as customers respond to higher costs, limit this season’s gift-giving, and look for the best possible bargains.

I am currently working on a piece for the December issue of CRM about holiday shopping in a recession. As I have been researching and conducting interviews, I realized some of this information would be of tremendous value now — before the wave of shopping hits. The Aberdeen Group recently released a study, “The Complete Mantra for Driving Holiday Business in 2008, 2009 and Beyond” [Follow the link for limited-time access to the report], which discusses key factors for driving successful holiday business. For the report, Aberdeen surveyed 100 retail enterprises to assess the retail industry’s preparation for the upcoming shopping season. I spoke with Ben Ream, Aberdeen analyst and author behind the report, who has a half-full mindset toward strategies for coping with a gloomy economy. Ream shared that when surveying retailers, two apparent concerns surfaced:

1. Worry over the increased cost of goods, and

2. Low consumer confidence.

Of the latter, Ream has proposed solutions. “There are many things that a retailer can do to engender sense of loyalty to compensate for a slightly higher price,” he says. Reaping the benefits of e-commerce and fully understanding the customer’s buying patterns and intentions are great ways to start, he says.

On the downside, a holiday sales forecast by TNS shows that this will be the worst shopping season since 1991– a glum, but anticipated prediction. So does this mean apples and oranges in stockings and “IOU” coupons wrapped up under the tree? Ream remains hopeful: “I think that consumes are savvy. I think that they enrich themselves through the Web with comparison shopping.” On the retail side, he says, “There are many things that a retailer can do to engender sense of loyalty to compensate for a slightly higher price.” (I will be saving the juicy details for the December print story.)

Happy Holidays?