With fewer than 40 days until Christmas, retailers have begun their annual blitz for holiday-shopping dollars, hoping to overcome shaky consumer confidence and fare better than last year.

Many stores have already decked out their holiday displays. Christmas muzak is playing in local malls. But it's not clear whether Canadians are ready to spend as they did prior to the onset of the global recession two years ago.

But some experts are forecasting less-than-encouraging numbers. The continuing economic uncertainty has prompted retail anxiety, they say.

"We really have some muted expectations, and certainly not looking like the boom years," said Todd Mallett, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

The unofficial kickoff for the Christmas shopping blitz is after Thanksgiving. Since then, advertising sales are up 8 per cent compared to last season as retailers strive to boost consumer confidence.

However, that may be an uphill battle. Visa Canada says it expects shoppers will spend $100 less on average compared to last year.

"Everyone in retail is now sitting up and taking notice, trying to figure out what their offering is going to be compared to Wal-Mart's," said Noam Paransky, a retail strategist with Kurt Salmon Associates.

Wal-Mart, one of the world's largest corporations by revenue, announced Thursday that its customers will received free shipping on close to 60,000 online items. The offer is good through Dec. 20 and includes no minimum purchase amount.

"Retailers are trying to be in front of customers 24/7," Paransky told The Associated Press, including by catering to shoppers via their smart phones.

A number of U.S. retailers, including Best Buy Co. and Staples, have begun offering consumers deals to help spur purchases.

Dan Grandpre, editor-in-chief of Dealnews.com, said that this year "everything is faster and sooner" when it comes to snagging Christmas shoppers.

South of the border, the National Retail Federation has forecast that American consumers will spend 2.3 per cent compared to last year, slightly less than the average annual rise over the past decade there.

"You clearly have a consumer who is restrained," Kevin Mansell, the president of Khol's, told the Associated Press. "So you have this drive to encourage consumers to spend."

But he added that "retailers have to move with the consumer, and the consumer wants ultimately flexibility of buying."

With a report from CTV's Richard Madan and files from The Associated Press