Emerging this season, according to Nielsen (NLSN  ), are five consumer groups based on COVID-19 restrictions and personal financial situations: constrained and restricted, constrained but free, cautious middle, insulated but restricted, and insulated and free. Further, Nielsen released four consumer resets earlier this year currently driving global consumer purchasing patterns: basket, homebody, rationale, affordability.

These consumer spending resets, compared with the five emerging consumer groups, make up with Nielsen's understanding of the "new normal" of commerce and shopping trends, especially when it comes to the holidays.

Each of these five consumer groups represent a unique pattern of shopping behavior during the holiday season, ranging from the least amount of money able to spend (constrained and restricted) to the most amount spent for the holidays (insulated and free).

For example, some families may have limited holiday spending available and are bound by local travel and business restrictions, while others may be financially limited but not restricted, or not impacted at all and therefore spending more generously than before to compensate or help those in need, or somewhere in the middle of this consumer spectrum.

Due to factors surrounding this "new normal" of consumer spending, holiday shopping this season continues along current trends when it comes to a decrease in brick and mortar shopping. While holiday shopping in person may be on the decline, however, online shopping has continued to increase during the pandemic. In fact, predictions for the November-January U.S. holiday spending season report a 35% increase in ecommerce sales--the highest of any season to date.

"Ecommerce is likely to be a big winner because consumers have shown a clear movement towards buying online rather than at brick and mortar stores," said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte's U.S. economic forecaster.

According to Lars Larsson, CEO at Varnish Software, "With new research predicting a 1% to 1.5% increase in total U.S. consumer spending from November through January, and a 35% increase in seasonal online sales, the holiday period is primed to be the perfect opportunity for retailers to try and recapture lost revenue from a difficult year."

When it comes to uncertainty, challenges of the unknown and new regulations impact not only consumers but retailers as well, creating a more difficult holiday experience for everyone.

"While the holidays are usually a time when retailers are desperate to attract crowds to their stores, one constant with COVID-19 precautions is that most stores are now concentrating on how to provide a safe shopping experience," said Andrew Challenger, vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"While retailers may not know exactly how many workers to hire during this period to keep up with demand, they will likely need to create positions and tasks that are unprecedented, such as temperature takers, mask enforcers, and curbside workers."