NRF Predicts 142 Million Shoppers on Super Saturday

Super Saturday, sometimes called Panic Saturday, is the last Saturday before Christmas. It’s a major shopping day for retailers as frantic shoppers race to stores to snag last-minute gifts and last-minute bargains. This year, according to the latest survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, nearly 142 million consumers plan to shop on the last Saturday before Christmas. Since Christmas is on a different day each year, some years the panic can be more pressing than others. This year, Super Saturday falls on Dec. 23, meaning there will only be two shopping days left. The last time Super Saturday fell on Dec. 23 was in 2017, when 126 million consumers were expected to shop that day. 

“Traditionally, Super Saturday marks the final major shopping holiday of the year,” says Matthew Shay, president, chief executive officer, NRF. “While most consumers still have plenty of shopping left to do, retailers are prepared both online and in stores with gifts, decorations and other items that people need to make this season fun and memorable.” 

The timing of Super Saturday this year bodes well for brick-and-mortar stores. With Super Saturday only two days before the Christmas holiday this year, more consumers are planning to purchase last-minute gifts and other holiday items in person. Approximately 53 million (37%) Super Saturday shoppers expect they will shop exclusively in stores this year, up from about 44 million (28%) last year, and 58 million (41%) plan to shop both online and in stores. Unless consumers are willing to pay a premium for overnight shipping, waiting to shop online until Super Saturday guarantees the gifts won’t arrive on time. Still, the NRF predicts around 31 million (22%) plan to shop exclusively online.   

As License Global reported in October, the trend of shopping early shows isn’t disappearing. The NRF reports that as of early December, holiday shoppers have picked up about half (49%) of the items on their lists. For those who still have more than half of their shopping remaining, over one-third (36%) say they are still figuring out what to buy. And consumers may also be waiting for the best deals. In November, 85% of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers expected the deals during the rest of the holiday season to be the same or better than Thanksgiving weekend.   

“This year, Super Saturday is truly aligned for last-minute shoppers,” says Phil Rist, executive vice president, strategy, Prosper Insights & Analytics. “A majority of consumers also plan on purchasing their last gift in the week leading up to Christmas.”  

Popular destinations where consumers will finish their shopping include online (49%), department stores (38%), discount stores (28%), clothing and accessories stores (26%) and grocery stores (19%). 
So far, the top gifts consumers have purchased include clothing (50%), toys (34%), gift cards (27%), books and other media (24%) and personal care or beauty items (23%).   

Holiday shopping will continue through the end of December and into early January. Most consumers (70%) say they plan to shop in the week following Dec. 25. The top reasons consumers shop then are to take advantage of holiday sales and promotions (48%), use gift cards (26%) and return or exchange unwanted gifts and holiday items (16%). 

As License Global reported back in November, the NRF expects holiday spending to reach record levels during November and December and grow between 3% and 4% over 2022, totaling $957.3 billion to $966.6 billion, according to NRF’s holiday forecast. By comparison, last year’s holiday sales totaled $929.5 billion.