Less consumers to shop this Super Saturday: NRF

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Dec 15, 2021

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is forecasting that more than 148 million consumers plan to shop on the last Saturday before Christmas this year, representing a drop from 2020.  

According to the annual survey released today by the NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics, the number is down from last year when 150 million consumers were expected to shop, but represents an increase from the 147 million expected shoppers in 2019. Likewise, the number of anticipated Super Saturday shoppers is the third-highest reported since NRF began tracking this figure in 2016.

Consumers plan to spend a total of $997.73 on holiday purchases this year. Come Super Saturday, 27 percent of consumers plan to shop exclusively in-store and 32 percent plan to shop online, while 41 percent expect to use a combination of the two channels.

As of early December, 52 percent had completed roughly half of their holiday shopping. Still, a record 42 percent plan to purchase their last gift before December 18. The most popular gifts purchased to date include clothing and accessories (44 percent), followed by toys (30 percent), books and other media (26 percent), and gift cards (25 percent).

“Retailers began preparations for the holiday season months in advance, offering seasonal inventory early and taking preventative measures to circumvent supply chain challenges exacerbated by the pandemic,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. 

“Consumers have responded with a growing eagerness to kick off the holiday shopping season early, and they expect to carry that momentum through the last few weeks of the year.”

The impact of supply chain challenges appears to be minimal, according to the NRF. The majority (71 percent) of holiday shoppers say they have been able to find the items they are looking for most or all of the time. And optimism is high, with two-thirds (67 percent) indicating they are confident or very confident they will be able to find the gifts and other items needed for the holiday season this year.

Next, holiday shopping is expected to continue into the new year. The survey found that 65 percent of holiday shoppers plan to shop during the week immediately following Christmas to take advantage of deals and promotions, and to use gift cards.

NRF has forecast that holiday sales will grow between 8.5 percent and 10.5 percent over 2020 to between $843.4 billion and $859 billion. The 2021 holiday season appears to be on track to reach as high as 11.5 percent growth over last year.