This year, a record 158 million consumers are expected to shop on the last Saturday before Christmas, according to the annual survey* released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The number is approximately 10 million more than last year’s expected Super Saturday shopper count and the highest number since the NRF started tracking the data in 2016.
According to the NRF’s data, of the 158.5 million anticipated Super Saturday shoppers, 44.1 million (28 percent) plan to shop only in stores, 42.2 million (27 percent) plan to shop only online, and 72.2 million (46 percent) plan to shop both in-store and online.
In line with recent studies, as of early December, holiday shoppers said they had completed about half (53 percent) of their purchases. They plan to finish their holiday purchases online (47 percent), at department stores (37 percent), at discount stores (27 percent), at clothing/accessories stores (24 percent), and at grocery stores (19 percent).
The top gifts consumers have purchased for the season include clothing (50 percent), toys (34 percent), gift cards (28 percent), books and other media (26 percent), and food or candy (23 percent).
This year, the NRF said 28 percent of holiday shoppers plan to give a gift of experience, including tickets to concerts or sporting events, a gym membership, spa service, or an art class—up from 23 percent in 2022‚— and is the highest, the NRF reported, since asking consumers the question in 2015.
Additionally, 70 percent of respondents said their shopping plans included buying after December 25, on par with pre-pandemic levels for post-Christmas shopping.
“Strong shopping is expected after Christmas as holiday shoppers aim to take advantage of retailers’ sales and promotions,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “In the week following Christmas Day, we expect to see consumers maximize holiday sales and promotions, use gift cards and return or exchange unwanted gifts.”
Respondents to the survey said their preferred payment method for holiday purchases had shifted. About half (52 percent) said they are using alternative payments or digital wallets, up from 44 percent in 2021 and compared with only 39 percent in 2019. The most common alternate payment method is PayPal (32 percent), followed by Apple Pay (14 percent) and CashApp (12 percent). About three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents ages 18-to-24 said they had used an alternative payment method or digital wallet this holiday shopping season.
The NRF defined the holiday season as November 1 through December 31 and had forecasted that retail sales would grow between 6 percent and 8 percent over 2021 to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion.
The survey of 7,857 consumers was conducted from December 1 through December 7, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
