Super Saturday: Record number of consumers expected to shop
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The National Retail Federation (NRF) — the nation's largest retail trade group — estimated that a record number of consumers will shop on what's been dubbed as Super Saturday.
In fact, over 158 million people are expected to hit stores and go online on Dec. 17, which is the last Saturday before Christmas and a key revenue-generating day for businesses. Although, 70% still say their shopping plans will also take place after Dec. 25 in order to "take advantage of retailers’ sales and promotions," according to Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist.
Still, the projected figure for Super Saturday is 10 million more than 2021 and the highest number of consumers since the retail trade group started tracking this information six years ago.
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Passers-by walk through the city center with shopping bags. (Heiko Rebsch/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Earlier this month, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said consumer spending is likely to remain strong throughout the final months of 2022 "even though its rapid pace is continuing to slow."
It's already been quite a frenzied shopping season with consumer spending reaching a new record on Black Friday, Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, NRF previously reported.
"Consumers have been shopping in record numbers this year, purchasing holiday items for friends and loved ones," NRF CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
NRF estimated that 44.1 million people plan to shop in stores only, while 42.2 million will shop exclusively online. About 72.2 million plan to shop both in stores and online, according to their estimates.
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Vendor arranges clothing for sale at a holiday market in Eastern Market in Detroit, Mich., Dec. 11, 2022. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Paying for holiday gifts, though, is changing. Over half of consumers relying on alternative payments or digital wallets.
Paypal is the most common way shoppers are footing the bill followed by Apple Pay and Cash App.
Nearly 80% of younger shoppers, between 18 and 24, have already used an alternative payment or digital wallet this season, the data shows.
Overall, NRF projects sales throughout the entire season, between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, to grow between 6% and 8% over 2021. This means total spending is projected to fall between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion.
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