More than 148 million US consumers plan to shop in-store and online on the last Saturday before Christmas this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

According to the annual survey released by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics, the number reflects a slight drop from last year when 150 million consumers were expected to shop but an increase from the 147 million expected shoppers in 2019.

“Retailers began preparations for the holiday season months in advance, offering seasonal inventory early and taking preventative measures to circumvent supply chain challenges exacerbated by the pandemic,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumers have responded with a growing eagerness to kick off the holiday shopping season early, and they expect to carry that momentum through the last few weeks of the year.”

With the date falling exactly one week before Christmas, the number of anticipated Super Saturday shoppers is the third-highest reported since NRF began tracking this figure in 2016. Just over a quarter of consumers (27 per cent) plan to shop exclusively in-store and another third (32 per cent) plan to shop online only. However, most (41 per cent) expect to use a combination of the two channels. 

Holiday shopping is also seen to continue into the new year. The survey found that 65 per cent of holiday shoppers plan to shop during the week immediately following Christmas to take advantage of deals and promotions (42 per cent) and to use gift cards (24 per cent).
 
NRF defines the holiday season as November 1 through December 31 and has forecast that holiday sales will grow between 8.5 per cent and 10.5 per cent over 2020 to between US$843.4 billion and US$859 billion. The 2021 holiday season appears to be on track to reach as high as 11.5 per cent growth over last year. 

The survey of 7,453 adult consumers was conducted November 24 through December 3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 per cent.