Small businesses plan events, start marketing earlier to deal with shorter holiday shopping season [Video]

The holiday shopping season is underway, and this year small businesses have less time to capitalize on the busy shopping period.

Only 27 days separate Thanksgiving and Christmas — five fewer than last year. But there are still ways to make the most of a shorter season.

The National Retail Federation predicts that retail sales will rise between 2.5% and 3.5% compared with same period a year ago. Online shopping is expected to grow too. Adobe Digital Insights, a division of software company Adobe, predicts an 8.4% increase online for the full season.

But small businesses have to work extra hard to compete against bigger retailers. One key strategy is to promote deals to …