Saturday before Christmas expected to be the biggest US shopping day of 2019
A star-shaped placard
US retailers areexpectedto ring up record sales on SuperSaturdaythis year, as fewerdays than usual between Thanksgiving andChristmashave squeezed shoppers to finish their purchases.
In recent years, theSaturdaybeforeChristmashas seen a late surge in shopper traffic. With retailers maintaining deep discounts late into the holidayseason, total sales on SuperSaturdayhave edged closer to Black Friday, thedayafter Thanksgiving which traditionally kicks off the season in November.
Many retail consultants and analysts estimate the surge will bump SuperSaturdayinto thebiggestshoppingdaythis year.
Craig Johnson, president at retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners, expects people to spend $34 billion this year on SuperSaturday. These estimates include in-store and online purchases but exclude sales generated at gas stations, restaurants, and automobile dealers. In comparison, Black Fridaygenerated $31.5 billion in sales, he said.
"Consumer demand remains strong," Johnson said. "While mall traffic is weak, those that are going to stores are buying more."
Despite slowing global growth,USconsumer spending is benefiting from wage growth and a strong labor market, retail consultants and analysts said.
Also, prices have remained steady instead of rising as widelyexpected, they said, which has spurred spending. According to an analysis, retailers including Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Incheld prices steady for many popular holidayproducts sold online despite pressure fromUStariffs on Chinese imports.
Many retailers are responding to the late surge in spending by keeping stores open for longer in thedaysbeforeChristmas. They have also added more staff in stores this year, reversing a trend that saw more workers being added to warehouses to ship online orders.
With store shoppers becoming more deliberate about their purchases, retailers' investments in improving the customer experience is resulting in stronger sales, analysts said.
"The shoppers that are coming into the store during the holidays want the personal touch...otherwise they'd be online," said Andrew Challenger, vice president at placement firm Challenger, Gray &ChristmasInc. "They want somebody to guide them through the inventory and in some ways help them select the right products at the right prices," he said.
Target said it is giving employees in stores a serious bump in hours, investing an extra $50 million into the effort. Similarly, Walmart's holidaystrategy this year has also focused on customer service improvements.
For instance, its Check Out With Me feature, which allows; shoppers paying by credit card to skip out on long lines by having employees equipped with cellular devices and bluetooth printers check them out anywhere in the store, is available in all big stores.
The National Retail Federation estimatesUSholidayretail sales in November and December will increase between 3.8 per centand 4.2 per centover 2018, for a total of $727.9 billion to $730.7 billion. That compares with an average annual increase of 3.7 per centover the past five years .