Holiday retail sales during November and December of 2016 increased 4% over 2015 to $658.3 billion, according to a report from the National Retail Federation. While this time period has traditionally been viewed as the most important for sales, consumers are increasingly purchasing holiday gifts throughout the 12 months of the year.

Digital and e-commerce are surging in the grocery retail industry. We are in the fortunate position to learn from the disruption that digital has already created in other retail verticals. But we are now moving with urgency to keep pace as the forces of digital disruption within grocery retail are accelerating.

National Watermelon Day, National Ice Cream Day, National Hot Dog Day, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day - the list goes on and on. With so many "holidays" being celebrated by the consumer, brands would be remiss to not take advantage of these opportunities, whether it's simply participating or even creating their own. Taking advantage of a holiday is an easy way for brands to create more compelling consumer experiences and outcomes.

As data and tech continue to advance, never forget that consumers are, in fact, still people.

Colin came home from his first day of second grade armed with a comprehensive list of supplies requested by his teacher. This year, he will need a pencil case that can hold at least six pencils (made of cloth, not plastic or vinyl), a five-subject notebook with visible plastic tabs separating the subjects (wide-ruled, not college-ruled), and a pair of safety scissors with plastic blades. His mother hits her favorite search engine with this list in hand to find all of the items.

Marketers like to put things into buckets. Are you a digital or a social agency? Does this come out of the trade or the advertising budget? Is this an above- or below-the-line spend? It takes a lot of work to convince a decision-maker that you ARE an expert in a new discipline because once your company is in an industry bucket, it's difficult to get out.

While the potential for this trend has been suggested in the past, the reality is that in the last five years it has truly become serious and is accelerating.

Many aspects of the digital world are dominated by a single giant: Google dominates search, Facebook dominates social, and of course, Amazon dominates e-commerce. For the vast majority of brands, walking away from the giants simply isn't an option ... so digital success means dancing with these giants more effectively.

YouTube is, without a doubt, a force to be reckoned with. In fact, Victor Anthony, a tech analyst from CNBC, recently said if YouTube were a stock, it would have a value of $75 billion. Did you know that YouTube reports that its audience is almost one-third of the entire Internet user base accounting for 1+ billion users? And the viewership increases by 60% year after year, according to Google. It's no wonder that brands are looking to YouTube for sponsored content.

Just over a week ago, a new online retailer called Brandless opened its metaphorical doors for business. But unlike the conventional e-commerce model that we all know and love, Brandless offers each and every one of its products at the same price: $3. Its purpose, according to cofounders Tina Sharkey and Ido Leffler, is "about the true democratization of goodness."