Super Saturday Shopper Count Expected to Fall

Nearly 142 million US consumers plan to shop on the final Saturday before Christmas, a drop of approximately 16 million people from 2022’s forecast, according to a National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Analytics survey.

While last year’s 158 million predicted shoppers was a record, the drop is likely attributable to the fact that in 2022, Super Saturday fell on December 17, six days before Christmas, while this year, it takes place on December 23, only two days prior. In 2017, the last time Super Saturday fell on December 23, the NRF expected 126 million consumers to shop, 16 million fewer than this year, it explained Wednesday.

Of the respondents who intended to shop on Super Saturday, 37% expected to do so only in physical locations given the proximity to the holiday, up from 28% last year. Some 22% will buy exclusively online, while 41% plan to do both.

Consumers indicated they had completed about half of their holiday purchases by early December. Some 49% planned to finish buying online, while 38% will shop at department stores, 28% at discount stores, and 26% at clothing and accessories shops. Over one-third of those who said they still had more than half of their shopping remaining noted they were still deciding what to buy.

The top gifts shoppers have bought so far are clothing, chosen by 50% of respondents, toys, picked by 34%, and gift cards, with 27% of the vote.

Consumers intend to continue shopping after December 25. Some 70% of respondents said they would still be purchasing into early January to take advantage of sales and promotions, use gift cards, and exchange unwanted items.

Total holiday sales for the November-to-December period will grow 3% to 4% year on year to between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion, the NRF forecast. The federation surveyed 7,973 consumers from December 1 to 6.

Main image: Shoppers at the Queens Center Mall in New York on Super Saturday 2018. (Shutterstock)