Multichannel merchants have lots to ho-ho-ho about, if the Christmas season results from Huntersville, NC-based NewRoads are indicative of the industry as a whole. During the six-week peak holiday period, the third-party operations provider processed 39% more orders, handled 24% more customer calls, and shipped 32% more parcels than it had during the same period in 2004. Most of NewRoads’ clients had record volumes, the company reports, as direct-to-customer channels continue to grow at multiples of overall retail spending.