An image from GSI Commerce shows a Web site that the firm redesigned for Dick's Sporting Goods of Findlay.

By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Shipping giant FedEx Corp. expects customers checking on packages will make almost 6 million tracking requests daily on its Web site in December, a new record.

But it won't be the only company setting records this holiday season as the online world continues to become part of the normal shopping experience, forcing Web-enabled retailers and their support systems to handle ever larger crowds.

Jupiter Research is projecting online holiday sales this year will reach $32 billion, up 18 percent from last year. FedEx expects to break its one-day record for carrying packages with 9.8 million on Dec. 18, up from a mere 8.9 million on last year's biggest day. More than 70 percent of all consumers will use the Internet to either buy or research gifts this holiday season, according to Carl Steidtmann, chief economist for Deloitte Research.

So while the overall pace of economic growth appears to be slowing a bit, companies involved in online shopping are trying figure out just how big electronic commerce can get -- and how to be prepared for whatever the Internet dishes out.

"That's our Super Bowl here at FedEx Ground," said Mike Mannion, senior vice president of terminal operations at the Moon subsidiary of the Memphis-based shipping company.

THE BUCKS COME THROUGH HERE

Certainly for GSI Commerce Inc., there is no more important time.

In the last three months of the year, the King of Prussia e-commerce company that serves as the elf behind Web sites such as Dunham's Sports, Bath & Body Works and, for the first time this year, Toys 'R Us, is expected to help move more than $500 million in merchandise over the Web.

The company, which posted net losses for the first three quarters of the year, is projecting a big finish with fourth-quarter net income of about $20 million. That's a typical pattern for a business that, for the last two years, has collected about 40 percent of annual net revenues in the last quarter.

"We've been planning for the holiday since the end of last season," said Steve Davis, senior vice president of partner services.

Online stores have the potential to feel dated even faster than bricks-and-mortar sites. Not that long ago, just writing a product description and calculating shipping charges challenged online retailers.

Now consumers expect flashing pictures, user reviews and other bells-and-whistles.

This August, GSI unveiled a remodel for partner company, Dick's Sporting Goods of Findlay, which embraces the Web's turn toward social networking. Hunters and fishermen can brag a bit, posting pictures and comments about their latest exploits. There's also a free handicap tracker for golfers. "It's a way to engage the customers even when they're not going to shop," said Mr. Davis.

In part to accommodate consumers' habit of Googling whatever they want online, the site's search functions have been enhanced. GSI has added tools a mini-cart to allow customers to add items to their shopping cart without leaving the Web page they're on.

Some retail partners mainly use GSI's technology, while others also need the company to operate fulfillment centers where orders are packaged and shipped.

To keep the megabytes of electronic commerce from jamming up this holiday, GSI has invested in additional computer equipment and is bringing on 1,200 to 1,300 employees for duties such as packing orders and personalizing football jerseys. Hundreds of the seasonal workers will sit in a call center answering consumer questions.

Based on lessons learned last year, the plan is to have such strong support that goods get out even faster than usual, reducing worried queries to the call center as well as avoiding warehouse back-ups triggered by a sudden rush to take advantage of a sale on Dockers or perhaps Reeboks.

Mr. Davis also expects more consumers will take advantage of new systems allowing online orders to be picked up in stores.

He's expecting to break a few records, too. "This is going to be the biggest season that we've ever had."

NEW ADDRESS: THE INTERNET

The holiday season isn't quite as critical for Todd Levenson's South Side business, but it wouldn't be much a stretch to predict he'll report bigger online sales than ever before.

Earlier this year, he closed two Engrave Yard retail stores in Squirrel Hill and West Mifflin, and began encouraging consumers to go to Engraveyard.com instead when they needed a whistle for the coach or a personalized gift for the bridesmaids.

That may seem odd for a guy whose dream had been to operate 10 or 15 or even more retail stores in the Pittsburgh area. But the stores required long hours and employees to run the cash registers. The leases were due. Mr. Levenson decided the Internet might be able to support the business.

Now Engrave Yard is now a no-frills, 10,000-square-foot warehouse space where the company's five employees personalize plaques, clocks, baby banks, whistles, door knockers, frames and other items.

To make the leap possible, the company invested more than $50,000 in its site over the past couple of years. Upgrading the online store meant hiring a Web design company to reorganize it, a photographer to better capture images of the often shiny merchandise and finally paying a firm using search optimization tools to put the site in front of potential customers.

Being noticed by search engines matters. "The second we did that, the Internet soared," said Mr. Levenson, who estimates Engrave Yard now gets 70 to 100 orders a week compared with the few a day that dribbled in over past years.

Retail competitor Things Remembered has stores in most of the region's malls. "If you don't blanket the whole city and have 10 stores, it's very hard to compete with the malls," said Mr. Levenson.

In Mr. Levenson's retail stores, the busiest time was between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., yet the stores had to stay open even when things were slow.

On the Web, many orders are sent between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. Eastern time. When the staff arrives in the morning at the South Side warehouse, they pulls orders off the computer, then get to work on machines that help engrave messages in various metals or sandblast glass.

At this point, half of the company's total business comes from corporate customers and half from the Web. Revenues are projected to hit between $550,000 and $600,000 this year, and the goal is to eventually get the Internet side up to 75 percent of the business.

Customers determined to see someone in person can still track down Engrave Yard tucked into its less than glamorous address on South 3rd Street -- and a few do.

But the bulk of the company's merchandise is hauled over to the space equipped for filling boxes with packing peanuts, weighing and labeling packages, and preparing them for the next critical step -- shipping.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG

The fate of the online world seems to come back around to the shipping companies such as FedEx Ground, which has been plotting strategy and running the numbers at its Moon offices since January.

"The peak really drives our whole planning," said Mr. Mannion, the senior vice president.

As soon as last year's holiday season wrapped up, the company's top 100 customers were asked to give seasonal projections for this year, laying the foundation for everything from route layouts to the timing of seasonal hiring.

There was a time when planning started in July, he said, but that doesn't work anymore. FedEx does not know exactly which packages are triggered by online shopping, but the peak day for package load continues to move closer to Christmas, a sign that instead of just getting merchandise to retailers, the company's services are being used to get goods to individual consumers.

Preparations can involve the entire system or target specific issues that develop in a particular market.

Last year, FedEx Ground invested in an automated sorting system to handle small packages for its Hartford, Conn., facility where outdoor retailer L.L. Bean ships out lots of hiking boots, hats and fleece throws. That equipment will be used to its full potential this year, Mr. Mannion predicted.

Temporary facilities are being opened to handle seasonally heavy loads in markets such as the Baltimore-Philadelphia corridor. Seasonal employment begins to pick up in September, with this year total expected to hit 7,500. "Each week we will add more seasonal hires," said Mr. Mannion.

Meanwhile, the season is expected to last longer than in the past. Gift card popularity has given consumers another excuse to shop even more.

FedEx Ground's Moon headquarters have already begun to ring with regular conference calls checking on strategies and loads. At the height of the holiday shopping crush, there's one room where the phones can be counted on to stay busy all day as every region across the country -- starting with the East Coast and heading West with the sun -- checks in with daily reports.

"It's all about the planning," said Mr. Mannion. "You can't leave anything to chance."