The busiest shopping days of the year
The retail juggernaut that is Thanksgiving may have passed, but eight of the 10 busiest shopping days of the year still lie ahead according to research.
After Thanksgiving, the next biggest day on the retail calendar is Super Saturday on December 21, but in between, there’s a wealth of spending to be enjoyed.
Here’s an insight into the busiest shopping days of the year and how Thanksgiving shaped up in 2019.
The top 10 spending days
According to the National Retail Federation, this year’s holiday spending is set to hit a high, totaling between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion in 2019.
The peak period traditionally kicks off with the Black Friday sales and then extends all the way to December 31.
Meanwhile, Loss Prevention Media notes eight of those busiest retail days are yet to come in December, with this Saturday, December 7 ranking 10th on the list of busiest shopping days of the year.
In descending order, they report the following dates fall in the top 10:
- Number 1 – Black Friday on November 29
- Number 2 – Super Saturday on December 21, just before Christmas
- Number 3 – Boxing Day on December 26, the day after Christmas
- Number 4 – Saturday, December 14, two Saturdays before Christmas
- Number 5 – Saturday, November 30, the day after Black Friday
- Number 6 – Sunday, December 22, the last Sunday before Christmas
- Number 7 – Monday, December 23, just before Christmas
- Number 8 – Saturday, December 28, just after Christmas
- Number 9 – Friday, December 27, just after Christmas
- Number 10 – Saturday, December 7, first Saturday in December
Together, these days are predicted to account for 42 per cent of all foot traffic throughout the holiday period.
Thanksgiving preliminary figures
Black Friday traditionally ranks as the busiest shopping day for retailers, with the NRF recently noting an estimated 165.3 million people were expected to shop between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday.
This year, preliminary figures indicate foot traffic on Thanksgiving and Black Friday may have been slightly down on 2018 by around three per cent.
The figures further indicate, many people got in early with a 2.3 per cent rise in shoppers on Thanksgiving, but a 6.2 per cent decline in foot traffic on Black Friday.
And, a couple of trends also emerged, including the fact the lines between online and bricks and mortar continued to merge with Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS) surging in popularity.
BOPIS shoppers to purchase online during sales periods but pick up at the retail outlet when crowds aren’t as prevalent.
Preparing for the busy days to come
With eight of the 10 busiest shopping days still yet to come, retailers can rest assured there is still ample opportunity for consumer spending.
To maximise the expected profits retailers should:
- Ensure their loss prevention and in-store security is up to par, utilising features such as Electronic Article Surveillance, CCTV, bag checks and loss prevention personnel
- Double check their stock levels and incoming orders to accommodate expected peak shopping days
- Educate staff on the increased likelihood of theft over the peak shopping period
- Sufficiently staff stores for busy periods and ensure they are adequately trained in both customer service and store procedures such as handling returns, managing BOPIS, and maintaining best practice in loss prevention
- Audit their omnichannel offering to ensure a frictionless customer experience across all mediums
- Track trends including foot traffic, sales data and popular products to gain an insight into immediate product demand and availability and to have a better understanding of what’s likely to occur next year
Looking to bolster your EAS security?
If you’re looking to improve your EAS security with additional security tags, pins and labels over the busy period ahead, you can select and order tags directly here or labels directly here. Alternatively, our friendly customer service staff are also available to assist.
