Even though many retailers are still redeeming gift cards and processing customer returns from holiday 2013, it is time to be planning for holiday 2014. It is not too early.

As Newgistics says: “Preparing a holiday 2014 strategy can require looking at nearly every area of the retailer’s business. By starting now, retailers have plenty of time to implement and test technologies and tactics so that when November and December roll around, they’re ready. ‘It takes a lot of planning and testing to properly prepare for the holidays, because any changes retailers make to their Web sites have cascading effects that impact their performance downstream,’ says Elizabeth Scott, director of technical services for Tenzing Managed IT Services, a provider of hosting solutions for E-retailers. ‘Identifying the areas where upgrades are needed now means retailers can use the selling seasons leading up to the holidays to audition and fine-tune those improvements.'”

Click the image to read some advice from Newgistics.