American consumers prioritize risk-taking, adventure and living an exciting life when it comes to making purchases, according to global research by HSBC. This structural shift among U.S. consumers' purchasing habits is prompting companies to rethink existing marketing and business strategies.

UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service are all projecting major growth in holiday shipping volume during the peak season, driven by the continued boom in ecommerce activity. UPS, for example, is projecting 700 million deliveries between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, a 14 percent increase over 2015.

The traditional holiday shopping season is shaping up to be a microcosm of the big changes that are roiling retailers every day.

Consumer spending rebounded strongly in September, rising the most in three months as incomes also improved, the Commerce Department said this week. The 0.5 percent jump in personal consumption expenditures provided momentum for a key driver of the U.S. economy heading into the year's final quarter and could push the Federal Reserve closer to another small interest rate hike.

If retail advisor Doug Stephens is to be believed, the term "store" someday will be remembered as a relic of the Industrial Revolution as our culture and technology enable transactions virtually anywhere, thanks to socially integrated buy buttons, mobile commerce and more. We've already seen a shift in the language of retail away from "stores" to "physical retail spaces," which Stephens told attendees at September's SAP Retail Forum is a better way to describe how retailers should think about their businesses as commerce channels proliferate.