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Black Friday to reign as busiest shopping day
Four of the 10 busiest shopping days of the year will happen between Dec. 20 and 24, although Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is expected to remain the single busiest shopping day this holiday season, ShopperTrak said Tuesday.
Chicago--Four of the 10 busiest shopping days of the year will happen between Dec. 20 and 24, although Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is expected to remain the single busiest shopping day this holiday season, ShopperTrak said Tuesday.
This is the 10th year in a row that Black Friday is expected to be No. 1 in terms of sales and foot traffic for the holiday season.
“Super Saturday,” the final Saturday before Christmas that falls on Dec. 21 this year, will be the second-strongest shopping day of the season, followed by Dec. 22 and Dec. 20, ShopperTrak predicts.
“Some shopping days, like Black Friday and Super Saturday, are always busy. But calendar changes affect each holiday season differently. Because Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, it will create its own mid-week momentum without compromising the typically high weekend shopper activity,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.
The holiday shopping season is shortened this year as there are only four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, down from five last year.
ShopperTrak is predicting consumers will make fewer store visits in November and December--specifically 1 percent fewer than in 2012--but isn’t expecting the trend to translate into a decline in spending; rather, the company is forecasting a 2 percent rise in national retail sales compared to the same months last year.
The predicted 10 busiest days of the 2013 holiday shopping season are contained in the chart below, beginning with the busiest day.
Sales rank
Date
1
Friday, Nov. 29 (Black Friday)
2
Saturday, Dec. 21 (Super Saturday)
3
Sunday, Dec. 22
4
Friday, Dec. 20
5
Saturday, Dec. 14
6
Monday, Dec. 23
7
Thursday, Dec. 26 (day after Christmas)
8
Saturday, Nov. 30
9
Saturday, Dec. 7
10
Saturday, Dec. 28
Source: ShopperTrak
Last year’s 10 busiest shopping days accounted for more than one-third (36 percent) of sales of general merchandise, furniture and other products (GAFO) for the period of Black Friday (Nov. 23, 2012) through Jan. 5, 2013.
This year, ShopperTrak said stores will see slightly more traffic than last year on Black Saturday (Nov. 30), the day after Black Friday. In addition, the company says six out of the 10 busiest shopping days will be either a Saturday or Sunday.
“The four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas are pivotal for retailers. Though shoppers may wait until the weekends to hit the stores, they
will come prepared with information about exactly what they want to buy,” Martin said.
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