NRF Predicts 147 Million Shoppers on Super Saturday

December 17, 2024  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

“Super Saturday is one of the last opportunities during the holiday season for consumers to get the remaining items on their shopping list,” NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said. “With a shortened window between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, consumers will be hitting stores and shopping online to get those final gifts and to take advantage of special promotions and deals.”

With only four days between Super Saturday and Dec. 25, shoppers are likely to embrace multiple channels as they wrap up their holiday shopping. This year, 69.5 million (44%) people plan to shop both in-store and online, up from 58.3 million (41%) in 2023. Approximately 49.4 million (31%) expect to shop exclusively in-store, down from 52.8 million (37%) last year, while 38.2 million (24%) plan to shop online only, which is up from 30.8 million (22%) in 2023.

As of early December, consumers had purchased half (50%) of the items on their shopping list, on average, while only 10% were completely done. Those with at least half of their shopping left to finish said they were waiting because they were still trying to figure out what to buy (37%), had other financial priorities before December (27%), or were waiting for family members and friends to let them know what gifts they want (24%).

“Whether shoppers have planned out their shopping list or are waiting until the last minute, most shoppers still have purchases left to make before December 25,” Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “As with last year, over half of consumers expect they will complete their shopping in the week leading up to the Christmas holiday.”

The leading destinations consumers plan to finish their shopping are online (49%), department stores (37%), discount stores (27%) and clothing and accessory stores (25%). The top gifts shoppers have purchased so far include clothing and accessories (50%), toys (32%), gift cards (26%), books, video games and other media (24%) and personal care or beauty items (24%).

Similar to last year, most consumers (71%) plan to shop the week immediately following December 25. The top reasons consumers plan to shop during the week are to take advantage of holiday sales and promotions (48%), use gift cards (26%) and return or exchange unwanted gifts and holiday items (16%).

NRF defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 and has forecast that holiday spending is expected to reach record levels and will grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023, totaling $979.5 billion to $989 billion. 

The survey of 7,861 adult consumers was conducted Dec. 2-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Read more about the holiday season at the NRF Winter Holiday Headquarters.