Halloween is Friday, which means by this time next week, we'll be well into November, Thanksgiving will only be a few weeks away and the holiday shopping season will be looming just around the corner. In fact, some organizations have already begun holiday-themed displays, but of course the season's unofficial kickoff doesn't commence until Black Friday, which is only four short weeks away. This year industry experts predict a gigantic shopping season, which puts pressure on retailers to keep up with increased traffic while maintaining the security of customer data.

It was only last year when Target was hit hard right at the apex of the holiday shopping season — an incident that resulted in a PR nightmare the company is still trying to overcome. What followed was what can only be considered a bad year in the retail industry, as a number of prominent retailers were hacked. Organizations ranging from Home Depot to Dairy Queen are currently dealing with the ramifications of their respective incidents. And as the holiday shopping season quickly approaches, a number of consumers are still wary about how their information will be handled during the busy period.

That's why Deal News contributor Louis Ramirez predicts that security will be the number one issue this holiday season. In a recent article, he said consumers can expect a different approach to security than in years past.

"It was around Black Friday last year that Target experienced the first of these massive security hacks, but it wasn't the last; then came Neiman Marcus, eBay, Home Depot, and more. There's no denying 2014 has been the year of the hack. As a result, both retailers and consumers will be extra cautious this year, guarding their credit card info from would-be thieves," he writes.

Retailers should contact a merchant service provider to ensure they have the tools needed to protect customer data and maintain their PCI compliance.